Midnight Runners REDUX
by The Izzy Iz
Summary: [AU Squall/Yuffie, Cloud/Aerith] Yuffie is a messenger for an underground syndicate known as 'The Organization'. She works as a runner, a combination combatant and delivery girl for special Organization packages. After coming face to face with a midnight assassin attempting to steal her package, Yuffie is saved by a mysterious stranger and his oversized gunblade.
1. Fateful Delivery

Greetings my good readers. The first thing you should know is that this is an adoption fic taken on by myself, of my own volition. I have no association which the fic's previous writer, however, I felt that too much good work had been put into the original for it to be wasted. I really enjoyed the plot and characters and thought it a shame for the story to die due to author inactivity. The last update from the original writer was well over ten years ago so I'm proceeding under the (admittedly) safe assumption that they no longer want to continue writing it.

The original posting can be found here: s/2969233/1/Midnight-Messenger

Now, all that being said I will endeavor to keep things as true to the nature and plot of the original fanfiction as possible. My writing style differs somewhat from the original author's, but I will try to keep the tone the same and will endeavor not to change the established personalities of the characters too much. I have posted the first six chapters here for the convenience of any future readers as I plan on keeping this going for a while.

Finally, I'm looking for a beta-reader to look over my gobbledygook first drafts to try and catch the aforementioned wonky dialogue choices or typos. If you're interested in the position I would politely request that you have a Discord account set up so we can discuss more freely (and to keep me updating).

Updates are probably going to be once a week or once every two weeks depending on how much free time I am allotted with work and lifestyle. Additionally this is my very first attempt at writing fanfiction so any comments, critiques, flames, hatemail, etc. would be lovely. I'm really not touchy so feel free to be as blunt as you like. Now, without further ado.

* * *

The city of Autui was and always has been a place of rich culture and tradition, children often following in their father or mother's footsteps and taking over the family name when they are of age. As my father was a business man and my mother doesn't work, I always figured that when I turned sixteen I would be shoved into a small, dimly-lit room with papers stacked everywhere. Boy, did I get a shocker. Ah, well. That was over a year ago now.

Even though my eyes were closed I could see the orange-tinted sun filtering through the windows of my bedroom. They placed my room on this side of the house on purpose – exactly ten minutes before sunset and ten minutes after sunrise (well, thereabouts, depending on the season) the sun hits my pillow. An affective alarm clock? Yes. On time? Absolutely. Correct amount of sleep? Not so much.

With a groan I sat up, running a hand through my tousled black hair as I blinked in the bright sunlight. If there weren't so many benefits of this job, I'd definitely take one with a better schedule. I know I shouldn't be complaining, but I've never been a morning person.

Well, in my case, someone-who-can-wake-up-at-any-hour-and-feel-refreshed. Because it's far from morning. Oh, no. The day was technically over, but mine was just beginning.

I pulled back my sheets and stood, stretching as I did so. As was my daily ritual, I took a shower and brushed my teeth, returning in less than ten minutes to get dressed and go to...work.

When I was fifteen and a half –I was to become a fully-fledged member of the family and begin working in six months – my father gave my some unexpected news. I was not to be a businesswoman (to my relief) and instead, I would begin training for another job that I would receive when I actually turned sixteen.

Now, I suppose it's worth mentioning that through my entire life, I have been known as the fastest runner in the entire city. It started with my tendency to not ask for items and to 'forget' to return them, and the first time I was caught – yes, I admit, it was petty thievery – I was acknowledged as very, very fleet of foot. Or at least, that's what they called it. Really they just meant I could outrun most men in the city and all of the kids in my age group.

However, the job I was supposed to receive didn't have much to do with thievery – in fact, it was the complete opposite. I was to be a sort of mail-carrier, a delivery girl between all of the different cities. After I passed the test, I was hired by one of the underground organizations that span across the entire country.

Actually, it sounds pretty fishy now that I think about it. I was given a new name to use on my missions – Osprey – to protect my family. On the job I carry packages to and from different cities to wherever I'm told, never actually opening them. Not only am I a delivery girl, but I'm hired to protect the goods inside. (Not that I ever know what is inside them anyways. Like I said, I'm a hired messenger.) The six months of training I went through helped me go from a fleet-footed thief to a highly-alert, trained messenger ready for anything. Little did I know what I was getting myself into at the time.

I dropped the towel on the floor and hastily put on my uniform – a pair of black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt, both made of very basic black fabric. (After all, in the light of the moon it isn't hard to see reflections in the dark. This cloth is both comfortable and as non-reflective as cloth can get. If you think ninjas and assassins or other night-stalking people wear silk and silver, then you're missing part of the equation.) Black gloves and simple black boots – with textured soles for a better grip – as well as a face mask and black bandana are the final pieces of my outfit. Plus, of course, the black cloak designed to hide the black pack I carry my cargo in.

The sun was just setting as I opened my window, jumping onto the tree branch not a foot away. From there I headed to the secluded alley not that far off – of course, with my training and natural speed it took almost no time at all – to meet my employer. One of them, at least. Every time it's a different person.

When I dropped into the alley, one of them is already waiting there for me, face hidden under a black hood.

"Osprey...right on time. As always. Your reliable timing and speed is getting well known through the company," he drawled – it was a he, as far as I could tell – while pulling a card out of his pocket, "This is the location you shall deliver this package to. It needs to arrive before daybreak. I trust you can get it there on time..."

I took the card with one gloved hand, glancing at only the city name and not the street address. When I looked up again the man was gone, leaving only a small wooden box and a message scroll in his place.

Lasbruck. The northern city well-known for the pompous, rich people who live there and the tall, fortified stone wall that surrounds it like a castle. They always hire bodyguards and other swordsmen to protect them, and they usually do it through the same organization that employs me. We're all on the same side, however, so I didn't think it will be a problem. Tucking the card into my pants pocket, I carefully placed the items left for me into my pack and began on my moonlit journey northward.

* * *

On my other trips to the stone-encompassed city, I've noticed its dreary skies and attitude that is just as plain and dull as the rocks all around it. The high-class nobles (I mean, well, they're _nobles_) don't come out of their homes. The streets, sky, plants...they're all the same gray. It bothers me to be in such a dim place. I've always been a chipper person, though I'm supposed to be relatively apathetic on the job.

Tonight, however, the ever-gray skies decided to release a downpour upon the city – and me, probably the only person not sitting by a fire and drinking a ridiculously expensive cup of tea. The rain had already soaked through my cloak, leaving me to shiver and wince with every gust of wind. What a lousy night to be out. But, again, this was work. It's not supposed to be fun all the time.

Once again I checked the address card given to me – Lasbruck, Sector Gamma, 256 Hotrae Lane...The last line was completely blotted out with rain. With a shrug I put it back into my pocket (which is probably just as wet by now) and jumped off the high wall that surrounds the city onto the rooftop below.

I nearly jumped out of my skin when thunder unexpectedly clashed overhead, causing me to slip on the slick stone roofs. Out of instinct I let out a string of curses that were quickly lost in the violently thrashing wind. At least no one else was out here that could have heard me-

The sharp sound of metal reached my ears and I squeaked as I narrowly managed to dodge a knife thrown in my direction. With water running down my face and my dark hair in my eyes, I couldn't tell which direction it was thrown from. On alert, though, I continued on my way towards the Sector Gamma part of town.

Before I even took another step I heard the thud of a knife thrown into the roof behind me. Not even bothering to turn around, I bolted for the edge of the building – only to find the knife had affectively pinned my cloak to the rooftop.

"Dammit," I hissed through my clenched teeth, shivering as I managed to pull myself free. A good chunk of the bottom of my cloak was now missing, still lodged under the knife. Though the bottom was now in tatters, it was the least of my concerns – the knife's hilt was gold.

An assassin. I had a hired assassin on my tail! Only a hired assassin – a well paid one, at that – could have such perfect aim and well-crafted knives! I clenched my chattering teeth and flipped myself down into the maze of alleys, hoping to confuse the hunter on my tail.

It wasn't long before I heard footsteps on the roofs above me, a sure sign that I was the target. Or, perhaps, the target was the package I carried. It didn't matter; whether or not I was killed has no meaning if they got the package. I'd both fail my mission and probably get killed if the package fell into the wrong hands. Well. I wouldn't let that happen.

I took a sharp turn, running through a dreary, sopping wet garden and out the other side. With the assassin hot on my tail, I headed for the most likely place I would be safe – the nobility district. Sectors Alpha through Gamma were where the high-class rich people lived, being closest to the largest castle that was the government wing in Lasbruck. The many gardens, twisting pathways, and guards stationed throughout the area would at least give me a little time. Another knife lodged into a door I had only just passed, and I sped up my pace.

Only to run directly into something.

Someone, rather.

We toppled over onto the stone pathway, a tangle of soaked arms and legs and waterlogged clothing. I found myself face to face with the brightest blue eyes I had ever seen in this gray city – as well as one of the most amazing faces. I slipped as I scrambled to my feet, stepping on the ragged edges of my cloak. The man grabbed my arm, stabilizing me and allowing me to catch my balance. Not a second later he pushed me down, a knife singing through the air to hit the crate behind me.

He whirled around at me, eyes narrow beneath the strands of dark hair falling in front of his face. I could see the faint outline of a scar running across his face when the lightning crashed again, quickly followed by a boom of thunder.

"GO!" he shouted, voice hoarse and barely audible over the howling wind and rain. I nodded numbly, both petrified by his icy eyes and by the knife that had almost impaled me. He gave me a rough shove in the opposite direction, and I started running again. When I glanced back I could see him drawing a sword against the assassin that now confronted him – the one that had been hunting me. I pulled up the hood of my cloak again, though the rain continued to stream down my face from my hair. I kept running.

* * *

Arms trembling and shoes soaked through, I knocked on the door of 256 Hotrae Lane in Sector Gamma. I didn't know how long it had been since I started to run from my strange encounter; I didn't stop until I was at the doorstep.

The woman who answered the door immediately recognized my entirely-black outfit, ushering me inside without a word. I was grateful to get out of the weather and into the warmth of a house. Although, I mused to myself with a tiny, blue-lipped smile, I was dripping all over the floor. I would have laughed if my lips weren't shaking with my chattering teeth.

"Osprey?"

I perked up at the sound of my adopted name. A man approached me – a noble, obvious from the way he dressed, even though he was in his nightclothes. I nodded, removing my cloak and taking off my pack. At least it was waterproof.

"Your recommendation was correct, I see. It's still quite early in the morning and you've arrived, even in this horrendous weather. I will tell your employers of your good service," he said, watching keenly as I gently removed the box and the scroll that accompanied it.

"Thanks," I replied, not bothering to twitch my mouth into a smile. Soaked to the bone, I watched as his eyes brightened greedily and he hastily took the package upstairs. I sighed. Another job done.

Luckily, the woman who answered me at the door – one of the hired house workers – was a bit more polite and kind. She allowed me to dry my clothes by the fire and gave me a hot meal after my long journey. It was all too soon that I was back outside in the weather, though, returning to Autui.

As the rain subsided, however, my mind didn't stop returning to the man who had defended me. Images of his face and haunting blue eyes raced through my head, as vague as they were because of the storm.

I couldn't tell anyone about this. If the organization found out that I had to be saved – that I had been noticed while on a mission – I would most likely lose my position and favor.

But I had to tell Aerith. The least I could do was tell her about what happened.

Tired as I was, I continued at a quick pace to Autui. I didn't know how long I could


	2. Village of Viele Bahnen

As soon as I stepped through my home city's gates, I made a beeline for the organization 'office' in Autui. Handing in mission reports, as dull as they are, are considered essential. The mission reports I turn in after every delivery as well as the customer's comments after I have done my job give me credibility. The better I do, the more missions I receive, the more money I make. It's well worth writing the damn things if I get a bonus or a higher pay on the next job.

I dropped off the mission report and headed home, changing into my normal wear – a simple pair of shorts, lace-up boots, and a black hooded vest over my favorite tank top. It felt good to be out of my damp clothing and squishy black boots. I immediately collapsed onto my bed and took a good, long nap. I woke up mid-afternoon (judging by the sun and the bustle of people out in the city streets) and headed out again.

The sun warmed my back as I went outside, and I felt a smile drifted onto my face. It seemed like not that long ago that it was the middle of the night, lightning forking over the sky and the rain drenching me in seconds. Now, with dry shoes and an empty stomach, I started off for the most logical place that my feet would willingly take me – the little town called Viele Bahnen.

It's a tiny excuse for a town. Really. It's located almost exactly halfway between Autui and Bahnen, the next large city in this area for quite a ways. Viele Bahnen was named after Bahnen (well, duh) though it is a much quieter and calmer community. It's only a twenty-minute walk with my pace.

When the cheerful cluster of houses came into view I couldn't help but grin. Viele Bahnen is the very definition of a cozy, traditional small-town village. It's no surprise that Aerith, one of my best friends, decided to live there when she moved from Yemac-Til.

I jogged the rest of the way to Aerith's little cottage, knocking on the door with a few sharp raps. The pathway is swept clean, as always, and the flowers look freshly watered.

"Yuffie?" a voice called from around the house, and not a second later Aerith came into view. She had her gloves on, watering can in one hand and basket of newly-picked flowers in the other. I bounced up to her as I always to, enveloping her in a hug before peeling myself away to help her carry her things.

Readjusting her hair ribbon (I've always been a little rough with hugs) Aerith just laughed, green eyes bright as they always were when I visited her after a mission.

"How was it, then?" she asked, removing her gloves and putting them in the basket along with the flowers. As far as I can remember Aerith has been growing and selling flowers and herbs, constantly tending them as a mother would.

I shrugged, looking impassive to hide the fact my stomach was churning already at the thought of my strange encounter. I had to tell her, of course, but I didn't want to upset her. It's always hard to phrase it correctly so she doesn't worry. I'm sure Cloud has the same problem.

"No injuries, nothing?" she asked again once we were inside. As per usual, she set a teapot on the stove and fetched us teacups. The result of my frequent visits is that she's gotten me completely hooked on jasmine tea. It's bad. If I didn't like it so much I'd probably be a little annoyed with her. It's hard to be annoyed with her, though, especially when she makes such good cake.

"I'm fine," I smiled reassuringly. (Or, rather, what I thought was a reassuring smile.) Aerith looked at me quizzically as if recognizing the odd tone in my voice. She's always been good at detecting lies. Dammit.

"Okay, fine, fine," I caved in, running my hands through my hair as she poured us tea and sat down. I never get away with _anything_ with her around. It's probably a good thing, more-or-less.

"Well, I was heading towards my drop-off in Lasbruck when I was attacked by an assassin-"

"_God_, Yuffie, are you okay? And you said nothing happened!"

"Err, yeah. I'm fine, really. Well, anyways, I was being chased through the streets to avoid getting hit by the knives when I ran into this _guy_," Aerith looked up at my when I emphasized the word, gripping my teacup with both hands, "We crashed onto the ground and he helped me up before pushing me in the other direction. I kept running and running, but when I looked back he was fighting off that assassin that was attacking me."

Aerith frowned, "Just any old guy? Are you sure he wasn't one of the hired guards? The wealthy people always hire them to protect their property..."

I shook my head, "I don't know. I couldn't get a good look at him with all the pouring rain. He had the bluest eyes I've ever seen, though."

I took a sip from my teacup, though I could feel Aerith's eyes on me. When I looked at her again she had a concerned look on her face, her eyebrows slanted in worry.

"Did you get a good look at his face, Yuffie?" she asked, green eyes unusually stern. I gulped my mouthful of tea, my back tensing. When Aerith gets serious, she always has a good reason.

"Yeah," I nodded slowly, "Bright blue eyes, dark brown hair – though I suppose it could be lighter, we were both soaked from the rain – and he had this scar running down across the middle of his face and his nose-"

I clamped my jaw shut when Aerith stood, setting her teacup down and pushing the chair back with a loud screech of wood. Definitely not good. An upset Aerith is a _scary _Aerith. To my surprise she was silent, then she just sighed before placing her empty teacup in the sink. She looked back at me with another small sigh, emerald eyes confused but calm. Something was up.

"Want to take a walk, Yuffie?" Aerith asked, hand already on the doorknob. Of course, with her acting like that I wouldn't dare decline - so I could find out what was bothering her. I just snorted, smiling a bit to hide me concern.

"What kind of question is _that_?" I said cheerfully, pushing out my chair and downing the last of my tea to join her. I followed behind her quietly as we walked down the front path to the street and down the road, heading west. After minutes of walking in silence I jogged to catch up with her spirited gait – it wasn't like Aerith to hurry. Looking up at her I blinked in confusion.

"Aerith..." I whined, "Where are we going? What's up? It's not like you to freak out at anything like that. I mean, I'm fine! I didn't get hurt or anything!"

"It's just that, Yuffie," the flower girl answered reluctantly, tucking strands of her chocolate-colored hair behind her ear again. At this I pouted but I let her get a few steps ahead of me, brooding on my thoughts.

We were headed down the path for Bahnen, the larger city, though it was quite a ways away. I stared at Aerith's back quizzically. I was tempted to ask her where we were headed, but decided against it. With Aerith in an unpredictable mood, it's hard to tell when she's joking and when she might just bash you over the head with her basket of flowers.

"There!" I heard Aerith say softly, and I walked up to meet her where she had stopped on the side of the road. A familiar blotch of color in the form of a person was walking towards us from the direction of the city, blond hair shining brightly in the sun. The man finally noticed us and quirked his eyebrows, picking up his pace a bit.

"Clooouuuud!" I shouted, bounding towards him. I tackled him a bit more roughly than I had Aerith – being careful to not cut myself on his gigantic sword, of course – before grinning up at him.

"Cloud! Are you on break now? Did you just get off?" I pelted him with questions as he continued walking towards Aerith. I had to skip to keep up with his longer stride. He smiled at me tiredly, not answering anything before we reached the brown-haired woman waiting for him.

Aerith smiled brightly, of course, chuckling as I continued to pester her fiancée.

"You're off for today, I assume?" she asked, turning to walk back towards their house with us. Cloud nodded, adjusting the grip on his sword.

"I'm done for today, and I don't have to go tomorrow. I passed in all my paperwork, too, so I'm set until they assign me somewhere else," he explained, ruffling my hair as I continued to skip along. Y'see, Cloud works for the same freelance organization I do, just in a different branch. Most of the time he's hired as a guard or mercenary, and it doesn't really take him as far away as I go – just far enough away to make Aerith worry. His assignment at Bahnen had been going on for a good two weeks and required he guard some place from midnight to about midday, though it must be done now.

"That's good," Aerith replied, soft smile still on her face.

"I got back from my mission too," I grinned proudly, hands on my hips. Once again the man chuckled, smiling at Aerith and I.

"Really? How was it?"

"Wet," I said bluntly, and I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose at the thought, "I had to go to Lasbruck and there was a big storm going though. I got attacked by an assassin, but I'm okay. You can ask Aerith, I'm fine. Really. And I met this guy- okay, well, not really met, but-"

"Yuffie," the mercenary said patiently, "Start from the beginning."

After sniffing with mock distain I recounted my tale as I had with Aerith, though since we had more time I was able to get into more detail. Especially how nasty the weather was, and the rude, greedy man I delivered too. Most of all, I looked for Cloud's reaction to when I described the man who defended me.

"Y'know," I said finally, "I thought that he might be a mercenary or something because of his sword, like you are, and I don't know anyone else that would be out in that weather, but I think he was hired."

They were doing it again. The couples-only talk. When through some weird couples-only method of communication they are able to read each other's minds or something. They look at each other, nod, murmur things when they think I'm not paying attention. They probably blink in some sort of Morse code too. Anyways, from the look on Cloud's face, I could tell what I said was bothering him too.

"What is it?" I whined, following them up the path to Aerith's house, but Aerith just dismissed it as 'nothing that is of any importance'. Pah. Like I'll believe that.

As we approached their front door the couple looked back at me expectantly.

"Are you going to be staying for dinner, Yuffie?" Aerith asked with another one of her eerie smiles. (They're not creepy, really, just too nice – like she has another motive.)

"No thanks," I scuffled my feet in the dust of the road as I stood, "I'll be heading back home. I think I'm up for another mission. The weather looks nicer."

"All right," the brown-haired woman just continued to smile, "Stop by if you head out. I can give you some snacks for the road."

I turned on my heel, waving and shouting "Thanks!" over my shoulder as I headed back home. I could tell they wanted to ask me more questions, but Aerith would probably tell Cloud all about what I said about that guy. I wasn't exactly open to another round of prodding anyways. They sure were acting odd.

I picked up a quick meal on the way into town, gobbling it down pretty quickly. I would need energy to make up for my last mission, and if I took another one – well, then I'd need even more to get me wherever I have to go. With that thought it mind I headed back to the dim alleyway to the station of the freelance organization.

The black-cloaked guard looked up at me when I came to the opening of the alley, the metal of their weapon glinting in the falling sunlight. Wow, it was almost sunset already? I must have talked with Aerith longer than I thought. Then again, walking does take some time.

"Osprey, back already?" he said with a slightly raspy voice. I shrugged, heading for the well-concealed door. He tugged it sharply and headed out of my way, allowing me entrance to the lantern-lit inner chambers. The person at the desk looked up at me, though the hood was up as per usual, I could tell that they recognized me.

"Another mission?"

I nodded blankly, getting more and more nervous. Shit, would I be punished for not showing up in uniform! I should have remembered to change before I arrived, but it was too late. The leader stood, heading for the door behind the desk where documents and deliveries are stored. He returned with a bag that jingled, a set of four scrolls, and a plain envelope that sagged in the middle.

"These are in need of transportation to Yemac-Til. They are expected tomorrow morning to the addresses written on this card," a thin slip of paper was placed on the desk, "and while the mercenary that was to be hired for this job is supposed to be here in a few hours, after your most recent successful mission I will give you the option of taking this one."

"I'll do it," I responded without question, my head held high and eyes steeled to not show my nervousness.

"Good. Take them and be on your way once you are in uniform. You may have three days' leave afterwards," he handed the items to me one by one, carefully setting the envelope on top of the scrolls, "Though if you would like to do another mission you would have to receive one from the office in Yemac-Til. That is all."

I scurried out of there as quickly as I could without dropping everything. I'm not one to be scared, but the leaders of this organization have a reputation for being harsh. Out means out. Take a mission and you must do it. Loose a leg? Ooops. Too bad. You're not allowed in anymore.

After changing and placing the items in my pack I ate some of the leftover cookies Aerith had baked for me, sitting on the edge of my bed as I waited for the sun to set completely. When I got to Yemac-Til I'd need to rest up – my nap and the food I scarfed would power me through this mission, but I'd definitely need to rest before heading out again.

Once the stars started appearing I jogged to Aerith's – a slow pace I'd later have to make up with a higher speed – and I arrived in Viele Bahnen with a good time. Yemac-Til was pretty far for a one-night run, and her baking would be needed to make it. Besides, she makes really good chocolate chip cookies.

"Yuffie!" Cloud smiled at me when he opened the door, motioning for me to enter.

"Not right now, sorry," I grinned, "I've got a lot of ground to cover and I'm counting on Aerith's cooking to hold me through."

"Ah, mission?" the blond looked over my uniform with a nod, recognizing it as similar to his own.

Aerith wiggled her way between Cloud and the doorway, handing me a neatly tied package that was still warm.

"Stay safe," she looked at me sternly, as a mother would. I nodded, and she hugged me before allowing me to step out of the lamplight and onto the road again.

"Wait! Yuffie!"

I turned back to find Cloud jogging towards me, an envelope in his hand, "What?"

"Deliver this to the address," he said, panting slightly.

I looked at him dully, "Are you going to pay me for my service?"

He laughed, rubbing the back of his head, "It will pay for itself once you deliver it, I promise!"

I waved, not shouting a goodbye as a precaution, and took my leave. The lights of the small cabin soon disappeared as I ran towards my destination – Yemac-Til.


	3. The Meeting With Z

To start off, I suppose I should say I knew exactly who Cloud's letter was to when I looked at the address. Unfortunately for me, the items I was assigned to deliver were in a different part of the large city. I was planning on dropping off the items and going right off to write my mission report anyways, so I'd do that before heading over to deliver the letter.

While Yemac-Til isn't particularly _hard_ to get to, even if it is quite a good ways, getting there in one night is definitely not a breeze. The road is flat but it crosses over a river about halfway from Bahnen to Yemac-Til, and the bridge is guarded through the night. (Is now a good time to mention that Yemac-Til is a rough-around-the-edges type of city? Not to mention the forest the road passes through to get there, which is an infamous hideout of bandits.) Regardless, I made it to the lantern-lit bridge when the moon was just starting its descent in the sky.

From a high tree branch I looked at the bridge, the guards pacing back and forth across it. The river's width is particularly big in this part of the land, so the bridge stretched quite a ways. Too far for me to swim and make good time, too far to risk just running across in the shadows and slip past the guards. I frowned slightly – I'd have to go across another way. Of course, it wasn't like I haven't done it before, it's just inconvenient.

I brushed my dark hair out of my eyes before dropping to the ground with a quiet thump, crouching low in the shadows before stealing my way to the side of the bridge when the guard wasn't looking. He turned around to pace in the other direction, and I slipped around to the underside of the bridge, metalwork starting at my hips and curving upwards with the arch of the bridge. I smiled faintly in the moonlight glinting off the rushing water, patterns created on the underside of the bridge. Adjusting my pack, I hooked my foot around part of the metal structure and grasped the metal bars, swinging out of the guard's vision range and underneath the center of the bridge.

From there it wasn't so hard – the metal was well-kept for and not rusting very much. My fingers burned and ached in protest after a few minutes of climbing, but I continued on until I was able to stick my head out and look up at the side of the bridge.

After confirming that the guard was on the other side of the bridge, I pushed myself forward and flipped around, landing on the grass of the other side of the bridge. I noticed with a smile that it was just as green. I couldn't take the time to think any further, however, and I continued along the road at a good pace, soon coming to the tree line of the forest. On instinct I jumped high and grabbed a tree branch, flipping myself around to sit on the sturdy branch before standing quickly and jumping from tree to tree with as much speed as I could. It was safer for me in the trees – off the ground and off the road, especially because anyone coming by someone dressed in all black will automatically think the worst. I'm no bandit, but the organization I work for...well, not all of its branches are entirely _legal_. I was taught to play it safe, and I play it safe because I _like_ my face arranged the way it is now, thanks very much.

I was suddenly shaken from my musing, rambling thoughts when a rumble shook the forest, and I had to grab tight onto the tree I was currently perched in to keep my balance. I looked around with a frown, though a bit curious, I couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding that was settling in my bones. My head snapped to attention when the rustling continued off to one side, and my eyes locked in that direction. I couldn't find the source of the noise, but I already began to hear the pulse in my ears and the heightening tempo of my heartbeat. Panic rose to my throat like bile, and I tried to push it down without success. I shivered in the chilling breeze that suddenly ripped through the wood, now very aware what was going on around me. Through the trees I looked up at the full moon, staring at its milky white face that suddenly seemed a bit more eerie than it did peaceful. I gulped back my nervousness – I shouldn't be this anxious, and I knew it – and bolted from tree to tree, hoping to get out of that God-forbidden forest as soon as possible. And it's not that I'm afraid of the dark, I just _don't like it __**at all**_.

I had calmed considerably hours later when the pink fronds of dawn started painting the sky, and I was just leaving the forest. A cross look of annoyance passed over my face; I must have taken longer in the forest than I anticipated. Drawing upon the strength I wasn't sure I had (and pulling out some of Aerith's cookies from my pack) I headed down the road for Yemac-Til. Slowly suburbs began showing up around me, growing as I headed towards the city. The faded and rusted metal of the buildings and the somber murky smoke that poured into the air always seemed to dampen my positive attitude. Soon the dark clouds over my head hid the tops of the increasingly tall metal buildings. For a successful city, Yemac-Til is pretty slummy. Not in a sense that it is doing bad – people here are very wealthy. It's just the sheer dirtiness and pollution that makes me cringe when I have to deliver anything here.

I headed to one of the many industrial sections of the city to make my delivery, the partially-hidden sun hitting the back of my head by the time I turned away from the factory door and headed off to file my mission report. I couldn't help but take off my dark headband (honestly, I like my normal one better, but I can't wear it on missions, it's too reflective being silver and all) to wipe my forehead before making my way through the dingy and desolate streets. The sooner I was out of this city the better. The almost always-cloudy sky and the smell of metal and grease in the city normally make me want to leave fast anyways, but this morning I was particularly edgy and the faster I was out and heading out the better off I was.

The filing of my mission report didn't take very long; Yemac-Til is the HQ of the secret organization. The city's industrial nature as well as its weapons market made it a good hiding place for a group of this manner such as us, as well as the high crime rates and – unfortunately – the black market. You never know if what you're delivering is exactly..._legal _or not. Sometimes I'm not even allowed to look inside what I'm handed, or it's already locked and the receiver has the key. Anyhow, my delivery went off smoothly and I had no trouble with my mission report. I turned on my heel after placing my report in the correct bin, heading for the exit.

"Osprey, you're wanted in the main office. Runner Osprey, you're wanted in the main office. That is all."

I cringed at the echoing sound of the intercom through the gleaming metal hallways, but I turned in the opposite direction and steeled my nerves. Main office of HQ...that's big. It's bigger than anything I've been assigned before. I've never even been inside the main office of headquarters, or heard of anyone else going in there for that matter. Usually I just drop my report in the paperwork office and head on my way...I drew a nervous breath and knocked on the door my feet had unconsciously taken me to. I had passed it so many times before but had never seen the inside...

"Enter." The door swung open before I got the chance to knock. Sitting on top of the desk inside was an operative, like me, with the hood of the long cloak up. I could see several doorways past the desk – oh. Must be the secretary or...whatever the position is called here. I heard an indignant 'hmph' and scurried inside, the door closing behind me. The hood immediately came off and I was faced with a blond woman, maybe five or six years older than me. Her eyes were icy and pinned on my figure, and I felt a lump rise to my throat. She didn't move off her perch on the desk, instead turning away from me and flinging out one hand, sending a blue and gold knife to the center of the dartboard across the room with a _'thuk'_ sound.

Without a word to me she pressed a button on the desk, "She's here. Want me to send her in?"

"Yes. You haven't frightened her, have you?"

She snorted to the voice on the other end, sparing me a glance, "Not on _purpose_. She's coming in now." Flicking a switch she returned her gaze to me, motioning with one hand to a hallway on the left, "Door Six, it's the third on the right down that hallway. He'll send you out when you're finished."

I nodded and quickly hurried towards the door, and I could feel her eyes still on me as I left. I almost sighed in relief as she was hidden from view by the hall, but immediately squished the thought when I faced the door with a shining nameplate with just the number six imprinted on it. With a reluctant sigh – man, did I really just want to leave and get some sleep – I knocked and opened the door, not waiting for a command to open it.

Well. Apparently it wasn't a problem. Behind the desk was a young man – maybe a little bit older than the woman outside – with slate colored hair that fell into his face and over one eye. I could see thin wire-framed glasses perched way down on his nose, looking as if they'd almost fall off. He looked up when I entered, eyes a mix of sky blue and the ocean, though much more calming than the woman's outside.

"Osprey. Sit down," he motioned with one hand, taking off the glasses with the other and folding them gently before placing them on the table. I sat stiffly, listening intently and keeping my gaze on the man even as I lowered my head in a semi-bow to my superior.

To my surprise he sighed, and my head instinctively snapped up. He was rubbing the bridge of his nose, leaning back in his chair. "Sorry if she scared you at all," he lamented, "She tends to have that affect on new people who come into the office. She's really not so bad once you get past the assassination threats and sadistic sarcasm..."

I blinked. He was trying to...comfort me? I could feel my eyes widen and he forced a sort of half-smile.

"Anyways, Osprey, you've been taking quite a few assignments the past week or so...the higher-ups are pleased."

"Thank you," I said, trying to smile without really looking overly pleased, which is actually rather hard. "Sir," I tacked on for good measure.

He nodded, "You've earned a bonus as well as your annual pay increasing because of your high success rates and customer satisfaction. I have to admit, your run times are impressive considering the distance and importance of some of your deliveries," he paused, "I suppose you didn't know you delivered a copy of the trade negotiations of Lasbruck's two top family companies about four days ago?"

"That thing?" I gaped, easily remembering the rainy incident clearly, "Trade negotiations? I'm surprised they didn't get soaked from the rain!"

"There's a reason everything is watertight," he agreed, "Osprey, as a company representative I have to tell you of your good jobs, but I'm going to tell you as your superior that you need to get some rest. You've been running almost constantly for the last few days and you should get some sleep and nourishment to continue working at the pace you're at."

"Yes sir," I mumbled meekly, suddenly very aware of how I must look. After an all night run...probably very windswept with bags under my eyes, partly from paranoia. My stomach grumbled and I glared at it for reminding me that I hadn't eaten since Aerith's power-boosting cookies. They're filling and they replenish energy, but I'd need a good hot meal as soon as I left.

"However..."I looked up again, once again slightly surprised, "I've been told to offer you another mission, a two-day delivery to Kisoz Cliffs. The item you are to deliver has...special properties, and it can't get wet, and that is why you have been chosen to do it. You are currently very high in the ranks of Runners, and because of the difficulties of this mission you will be paid double, as well as your annual wages will increase..."

He continued on for a few minutes longer, but I kinda toned him out. He continued to tell me about the statistics of the organization or something, but I was too focused on one thing: money. Double my normal paycheck for a mission meant...well, a lot. Money that I needed – my parents were already pushing me about being a burden on them and finding my own place – after all, my eighteenth birthday was in about four months, and it was due time I get on with life (or so thought my parents).

"I'll do it," I said, standing up confidently and not really paying attention to whether or not I cut him off. He nodded, jotting something down.

"You have to take a few days off afterwards," he warned, "The trip is exhausting. The road from Yemac-Til to Kisoz Cliffs isn't straight because it goes through part of the forest and over the river but also avoids the desert. It gets hot during the day in the sun and icy at night in the forest. I'm sure you're well prepared, but you must take a few days off afterwards. For your health. I can't force you to, because the office there runs on its own priorities, but for your sake you should. Just a warning."

He stood and pulled a key from underneath his black cloak, unhooking it from around his neck and unlocking one of the many drawers in the desk. He pulled out a crimson bag that looked like it was made of velvet.

"This," he said, "is an item of magical qualities. I'm sure you've heard of the myths of the traveling actor of many faces-"

"Oh, him?" I blurted without thinking, then clapped my hand over my mouth, "I mean-uhh, yeah, I've heard of him..." I winced, letting my hand drop. Oops.

"You've met him, hmm?" the gray-haired man just chuckled, "What a character, that man...I haven't heard from him since he took off a while back. Anyways, this is an item that he lost and it has been retrieved. You will return it to him, he'll be waiting at the Kisoz Cliffs office."

"Yes, sir," I picked up the bag off the desk, putting it gently in my pack. The way the cloth moved I could tell it was oddly shaped, but I didn't say anything more.

"You are dismissed, then," he waved to the door and I pushed my chair in. My hand was on the doorknob when he spoke again.

"When you see him, tell him that Zexion says he beat Luxord at poker. And that Larxene almost killed a priest for groping her. He'll get a kick out of it."

I nodded, my eyebrows raised so high they were hidden behind my bangs. Whatever, though. I left through the door I came in, the blond woman gone, so I hurried out as soon as I could. It was almost a relief to see the ugly smog-filled sky again, but I shrugged and kept going. I stopped long enough to grab a sandwich from a local deli and went to hand off Cloud's letter.

By the time I arrived at the door of the address I was grinning so hard I thought my face would split. With a smirk I pounded on the door, not stopping until I heard strings of shouting and curses on the other side. Even then I didn't stop, only knocking on the metal at a faster pace. Finally it swung inwards, revealing one of my favorite people in the world.

"Cid!" I launched myself at the mechanic, laughing when he grumbled and began dramatically telling me to shove off. I let go and he allowed me to follow him inside, stalking off quickly into the maze of his workshop.

"Yuffie," he said with a sigh and a smile, "What're you doing here?"

"I made a delivery," I said honestly, "And I have one for you!"

He blinked, toothpick in his mouth drooping, "I didn't hire anyone at th' damned underground to deliver anything!"

I rolled my eyes, "I know, it's from Cloud. He told me to give it to you since I'd be in town."

"Oh," he shrugged, taking the letter I held out to him. He began to tear it open, only half paying attention to me. News from Cloud meant big news. He hates writing letters.

"What's with the toothpick? Trying to quit again?" I teased, leaning over one of the work benches as I nibbled at my sandwich. He grunted, frowning as he read.

"Fine," I sniffed mockingly, "Don't talk to me. I'll just be on my merry way..." I headed for the door, frowning as I saw him not paying attention out of the corner of my eye.

"Be that way," I muttered, slamming the door behind me. I had things I needed to buy in the city anyways. Cloud could probably do with some new sword-polish, I could find a less-leaky watering can for Aerith, pick up a few gifts and some new weapons for myself...

I finished my shopping trip about an hour and a half later, my pack bulging. I patted it to make sure it was okay before heading back to Cid's dingy little shop. Try as I might, I couldn't find any quality throwing stars and knives anywhere but Cid's. I swallowed my pride and stepped inside.

"Yuffie!"

I winced. Why was everyone on my case today?

"Yes, Cid," I grumbled, "I need some more shruikan and stuff, you wouldn't happen to-"

"Here," he threw a black bag at the nearest table, and it made clinking sounds, "There are twenty-five in there. I'll be damned if you break and bend and lose 'em all before I see you again." I just laughed at his attitude, knowing very well I'd end up doing exactly that whether or not I meant to.

"But, Yuf," he turned to me, serious, and I gulped. Today must be Get On Yuffie's Case Day. It's gotta be the only explanation.

"What?"

"That letter," the mechanic said gruffly, "In that letter Cloud told me about that swordsman you saw back in Lasbruck."

"Oh. That," I squeaked.

"Yeah, that," he ran a hand through his hair, flicking the toothpick in his mouth, "There's somethin' you should know about him. Sit down, will ya?"

I plopped into the nearest chair, regardless of the grease stains on the back. Cid had my full attention, "What about him?"

"Well-" he suddenly looked a bit reluctant, suddenly in the spotlight, "We used to know him real well, me an' Aerith an' Cloud. He's a swordsman an' a damn good one at that. Moved to Lasbruck years ago an' we haven't heard from him since. From your description, though, sounds like it's definitely him."

"You...knew him?" I asked, amazed, "What's his name?"

"Squall. Squall Leonhart."

"Ohhhh," I stroked my chin, thinking hard. I didn't think I'd ever hear Cloud or Aerith mention a Squall...

"Ohh is right, young missy," Cid grumbled, "An' it's out of my shop with you! I've got things to do – weapons to make, things to polish, stuff to grind..."

Smiling, I waved as I left, scurrying out before Cid's withdrawal-induced temper sent me flying to the curb on my butt. It wouldn't hurt to get a head start on Kisoz Cliffs. Numbly, I remembered that guy's – Zexion's – warning about resting up. He was right; after those missions I was very tired. I still had a few of Aerith's cookies, but they wouldn't last the whole way to the coastal city. But now I had more things to think about...

_Squall_, my brained hummed, _SquallSquallSquallSquallSquall..._

In a way it fit that my first meeting with him was during that terrible rainstorm, even though the circumstances weren't great. I decided then and there, not even out of Yemac-Til yet, that I would find him again if it was the last thing I'd do. Then I'd get a chance to introduce myself properly. Vaguely, I wondered if he even remembered me at all. I shook the thought away as quickly as it came – he'd remember, all right. And if he didn't, I'd give him a few more reasons to remember me anyways.


	4. Road to Kisoz Cliffs

It was one of those sunny afternoons, the ones that have really clear blue skies with nice cotton-ball-like clouds and sunrays in your eyes if you're not careful. When all the colors around you seem brighter and more cheerful and the air just feels cleaner and you can he happy.

It was giving me a headache.

Okay, rewind. It really was my fault. Despite Zexa-what's-his-face's warning, I continued to Kisoz Cliffs without really having a good rest like I should have. And by rest I mean sleep and a good, healthy meal. I was given two days to deliver this thing, and he had even said that the trip was rough...but it wasn't like I didn't know that. I've done the route before. That wasn't the problem.

I was already rethinking my decision to do this mission early on, but I kept going. Now I'm almost there, and I know that I won't last much longer. It can't be earlier than about seven or eight and the sun is already up. I wanted to shoot the damn thing and be surrounded in the sweet darkness that wouldn't make my eyes burn or my head pound. Didn't help that the last few miles – because I knew I was almost there – were mainly uphill. However, I could see the quaint little city, barely more than a pair of towns kinda mushed together at the clifftops, and that made my muscles groan even more in protest. The route here isn't even that hard – it's just terribly, terribly long.

Finally I was at the city limits, and buildings began to evolve and grow larger, red and cream-colored stone making up most of the structures. The colors made my vision throb, and it felt like I could barely keep my eyes open. This really wasn't a great idea after all. Once I was in the heart of the city, I headed for the organization's office there...but I didn't really make it. It had taken me the better part of two days to get into the city, but I was finally here. At the first chance I got I sat down on an unoccupied bench in the shade of a tree, rolling up my sleeves and taking off my hood as well as taking off the backpack. Whatever that magical item was, it had been digging into my back pretty hard for the past two days.

I swung my legs up onto the bench, stretching out in the little pool of darkness in the otherwise bright city. Don't get me wrong, it was a great day – I just wasn't in a great mood to enjoy it. With the bag at my feet, I gave a long sigh before closing my eyes. A nap wouldn't hurt. In fact, I was already yawning at the idea. Just an hour – no, just half an hour – and then I'd deliver my package and lay low for a couple days. Yeah. That sounded good...

* * *

In a state of half-unconsciousness, I felt myself beginning to wake up. Mmmm, whatever that was, it smelled really, really good. My stomach gurgled in agreement and I shifted, though my eyes were still closed. It was really comfortable and I debated whether or not I really wanted to get up. Who knew a bench could be so soft and cozy?

I jerked upward as soon as my muddled brain could process that thought. I looked around in shock – I was on a couch, in someone's house! I really, really hoped no one had thought I was homeless or something and just took me somewhere. More importantly, why hadn't I woken up earlier?! And where was the bag!

My heart skipped a beat, but I immediately noticed the black bag on the floor next to the couch. It was a pretty nice couch, thought it looked really fancy – floral patterns and all that, though a blanket had been thrown over me. As I scanned the room I got an eerie sense of familiarity, like I'd been there before. I squinted at the pictures on the mantle and caught a glimpse of red hair. As jumbled as I currently was, it wasn't hard for me to put two and two together. Who else did I know that would have such obscenely girly floral-printed couches?

"Yuffie, you're awake!"

I could only give the girl a smile as I turned to her, although I was a bit confused, "Err, hi...Kairi. Um, thanks for letting me use your couch."

The redhead laughed, rubbing the back of her head. Huh. She must have picked up that habit from-

"I hope you didn't freak out too much," she apologized, still grinning, "The four of us were walking through the city after getting ice cream, and we spotted you on the bench. Well, Roxas did," she added as an afterthought, "But you looked pretty bad. They helped pick you up and bring you here, since you couldn't stay with any of them."

"Thanks," I chuckled, "You have no idea how rough this one was."

"Delivery again?" Kairi looked like she was trying to suppress a groan, and she pulled it off pretty well, "Yuf, you're going to overwork yourself. Look at you already! You had really bad bags under your eyes when we found you, and you look like you haven't gotten a good nights' sleep in a week!" I winced. That was actually pretty accurate. Did I really look that bad?

She sighed, but turned back to what I was assumed was the kitchen, "You should really take more care of yourself. Are you hungry?"

Grinning, I slid out of my makeshift bed and hurriedly followed Kairi into the kitchen, "Well, since you offered..." She laughed again, and I smiled. Kairi has always been sort of a younger sister to me, kinda like Aerith's my adopted older sister. The two have never met, but I bet they'd get along great. They both nag me and worry about me! I mentioned it to Kairi and she tried not to snort with laughter while she continued flipping pancakes. Seriously, though, they need to meet. But then again, I feel like that with all the friends I've made on my trips. Someday I'll have a big party or something and invite everyone...but for now, I just share stories.

"What is it this time?" Kairi asked, not even turning around. I shrugged.

"Can't tell you. I haven't deli-"

She did turn around at my sudden silence, "Yuffie?"

"Shit," I snarled, mostly at myself, "Kairi, I'll be right back! Don't wait, don't worry, I just gotta drop this damn thing off!" I dashed back through the living room, scooping up my bag and breezing out the front door as fast as I could. How the hell could I have forgotten?!

My run through the city ended when I arrived at the office doors, the guard leaning against the opposite wall smirking with quirked eyebrows. Dammit. After slightly catching my breath, I opened the door with as much calmness as I could conjure. Already I could feel the icy adrenaline in my veins. I was _late_.

"Osprey, how nice of you to join us," the secretary said as soon as I entered, and I almost froze to the spot. Luckily, I was closing the door at the time, and I shut it quietly before taking a few nervous steps forward.

"Well, I'm s-"

He held up his hand, silencing me. His eyes were amused, and they had that 'don't give me some sniveling apology' look. I sighed, slumping my shoulders and placing the bag on the table.

"Can I have my forms?" I asked tiredly, "Or do I not get them because I was late?"

"Chill, chill," he grinned, "It's a long way from Yemac-Til. You're not really that late, anyways – it's only a couple...hours...late."

I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut and slapping my forehead. How long had I been sleeping?! It couldn't...it couldn't be tomorrow, could it? ...Or would that make it today?! My brain started to ache a little, and I massaged the bridge of my nose.

"Hey, really – it's cool. He's not even here right now," the man said, and my head snapped up.

"Not here as in not in the office?"

"Yeah. You were supposed to check in here anyways, and then head over to the exact address. He was supposed to stay here and wait for it, but he kinda went off last night and hasn't been back," the secretary explained, leaning back in his chair, "The address is on that card right there – you can head over now, if you want, and just say that you were held up with paperwork."

"Okay," I said, uncertain, "But the paperwork-"

"Zex already sent something ahead. You're getting a few days off, no penalty. And no paperwork today. Just drop that off and you're good until you wanna get another mission."

I was speechless for a moment, surprised at the consideration Zexion had put into making sure I didn't overwork myself. Kairi was right. Maybe I did look that bad...even the higher-ups were noticing how hard I was working. And the effects of it too, apparently.

I picked the bag up off the desk, grabbing the card and said a quick thanks and goodbye before heading out. The address was pretty close, in the opposite direction of Kairi's, but I'd be fast. I had gotten rest so I was feeling better, after all, and it would only take about fifteen minutes.

The city really was pretty, and now that I was (more) rested, I could appreciate it better. The city is on a hill, and there are two levels – the upper one and the lower one, connected by cable cars...well, they're more like trains. The lower one is built right up to the cliff's edge, a nice big wall protecting the city from the ocean below. I imagine it isn't pleasant when the weather is bad.

Instead of taking the cable cars – they weren't running, so either it was too early or they didn't run on weekends (it was the weekend, right?) – I took the stairs down to the lower part of the city. Weaving through the neat, orange brick streets, I finally came upon the correct address. I didn't hesitate in knocking.

There wasn't any reaction, but after a moment there was a muffled thump and what sounded like a string of curses before the door opened. I didn't move my raised eyebrows, and the man in front of me looked at me with a slight frown.

"What?" he said, obviously rather annoyed.

"I have a delivery," I informed him curtly, pulling the bag off my back and opening it to pull out the smaller bag that had been given to me by Zexion. When I held it out to him he took it cautiously, like it was going to bite him.

"Err," I paused, trying to remember, "Zexion said that...it's something that you lost and had been retrieved..." Trailing off, I watched as he undid the drawstring and opened the bag, pulling out a rather strange key...with, what else, a key chain dangling off the end of it. It was sort of black and red and white, curling and intricate in design, the pattern of flames. The tall, red-haired man looked shocked but a grin soon spread over his face. He looked up, probably to thank me, but when he saw my face for the first time, really looking closely, I mean, a slight frown creased his face.

"Have we met?" he asked, curious if not a bit suspicious.

"Yes," I said bluntly, not surprised at all that he didn't remember exactly, "You were with that traveling group back on the road between Shimrae City and Yemac-Til with that musician guy. I had to deliver something for him and I ended up watching the show and staying the night with the camp, remember?"

He ran a hand through his messy hair and sighed, green eyes narrowed in concentration as he scanned my face again.

"Right!" he said finally, "You're the Runner, I remember now. Yu-something, wasn't it?"

"Yuffie," I corrected, though I couldn't help but smile. This guy was an odd character, all right, but you couldn't help but like him. I guess that's why he was dangerous. "Right," he said again, "I'm-"

"Axel; believe me, I couldn't forget if I tried," I laughed, heading back down the steps in front of the house, "Oh, and Zexion also said to tell you...that he beat Luxord in poker. And that Larxene almost killed a priest when he groped her." The smile never left my face, and I saluted once I reached the bottom of the steps. "If you see me again, don't forget to stop and say hi!" He nodded, smirking slightly and telling me to do the same. We waved goodbye and I practically sprinted back up the stairs and all the way to Kairi's house. Not because I was afraid or nervous, quite the opposite; I just didn't want to keep her waiting and worrying. I swear, exactly like Aerith.

The bell on the door jingled when I shut it, having let myself in. It wasn't like Kairi would be mad at me – I've stayed at her house tons of times. Usually I just didn't dash off like that. I took a few steps backwards, making sure I didn't accidentally hit the bell again, and jumped about a mile when Kairi snorted.

"You could have warned me before you ran off like that," she frowned, arms crossed as she leaned against the wall.

It was my turn to sheepishly rub the back of my head, "Err, well...I totally forgot about delivering the package. I should have dropped it off sooner, but I decided to take a little nap, and then you found me and..." I stopped talking at Kairi's melting frown, and she sighed, much like a mother would. (More Aerith, I tell you!)

"Come on, you're still hungry, right?"

"Yes!" I grinned, already itching for some pancakes. Kairi's gotta be the best cook in Kisoz Cliffs...except maybe Sora's mom. Then again, she taught Kairi since she had no daughter of her own and Kairi was close enough. I had forgotten how much I love visiting this place.

* * *

"Yuffie!"

I barely had enough time to turn around before I was clobbered by the boy rushing towards me. The force of the hug almost knocked me over, but I couldn't stop myself from laughing.

"Sora!" I ruffled his chocolate-colored hair just for the sake of doing it; ever since I've known him I've loved to do that just to annoy him. He pulled away from me and pouted, though the bright smile returned quickly.

"I haven't seen you in ages!" he bubbled, "What have you been up to? Still busy with missions and stuff?"

"Just dropped one off," I answered casually, "All the way from Yemac-Til. Oh, by the way – I picked something up for you! Catch!"

As always, he caught the little gift-wrapped package with ease. It was kinda messy, since I wrapped it on the way (at night, I might add) and the bow was a little lopsided, but I don't think he really cared. He ripped the paper off rather quickly, an excited gleam in his eyes, and a look of glee passed over his face when he was finished.

"Yuffie," he gaped, "Where did you get this? It's beautiful!"

In his hands he held a wooden compass, different kinds and colors of wood inlaid in the cover and back, the face of the compass delicately painted on white stone with a glass covering over it.

I shrugged modestly as Kairi leaned over to peer at the compass as well, "Oh, y'know, on my travels I always come across things like this-" Sora hugged me again, pulling away only to spin in a circle, experimenting with finding North with the new instrument. I never told them the truth; how much the things I bought them cost, or how I obtained them. Nothing illegal, but it added more to the mystery. My parents wanted me to move out, and I was well paid...but I found it more important to buy things like this for my friends. It makes the short and infrequent visits all the more pleasant.

"Man, I have to show this to Roxas and Riku!" Sora said, the grin on his face never leaving. Kairi giggled, muttering 'showoff', at which Sora once again pouted. I sighed; it was great being with friends again.

"I'm sure they won't be hard to find," Kairi's voice brought me out of my thoughts, "But maybe we should do what Yuffie wants...after all, she probably has to leave soon, right?"

I scuffed me feet against the ground, hands behind my back as I smiled, "Actually, I'm off for the next three or four days. So we can do whatever for a while," After a moment I hastily added, "But I would like to see Roxas and Riku, though."

"They're probably down training," Sora said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder in the direction of the lower city. Kairi nodded, and we headed down the stairs as I had done earlier, though this time much slower.

The place where the local boys trained was a large arena-like area of sand, with benches around the edges of the ring...well, okay, it was a square. Still, whenever there were tournaments they were held in the small arena and the boys could almost always be found practicing there, with a few of their friends and some girls watching from the sidelines. When we arrived, the two friends we were looking for were busy in the center, duking it out as usual. They were really going at it too – for a moment I was surprised at the ferocity, but as I watched, I began to smile. They really hadn't changed a bit.

"Roxas! Riku!" Sora shouted, waving his arms fanatically. The two paused in their sparring to glance at him, giving each other weary looks as if to say 'he's interrupting us again?' The grimaces disappeared quickly once Sora started motioning at me, and I waved a little at them. Roxas's trademark grin appeared, along with Riku's smirk. As they headed towards the edge of the ring, I bounced forward to greet them.

"Yuffie!" Roxas smiled, half-hugging me from where he stood on the slightly elevated ring, "How long have you been here? I didn't expect to see you for a while!"

"It has been a while," Riku reminded him, rolling his eyes and smiling at me, "What have you been up to?"

"Ahh, same-old same-old," I said unenthusiastically, leaning on the platform and looking up at them, "What's up?"

"Training," they both said at the same time. "There's a tournament coming up in a few weeks, and we want to make sure we qualify," Riku clarified, "We figured that if we both get in, the trophy will go to one of us in the end and it would be better than someone else getting it."

I wrinkled my nose, "How scheming of you. Anything interesting going on around here?"

Roxas and Riku exchanged looks, and the former shrugged, "Not really. New guy moved into town about a week ago and we've been hanging out, but really not that much," the blond explained.

"Axel, you mean? He's a riot. Good with weapons, too. You should ask him to practice with you guys," grinning, I backed away from the ring to the benches where Kairi sat, "I'm just going to watch for now, okay?"

"What? You're not joining?" Sora complained, having gotten up onto the ring himself.

"Sora, I'm exhausted from my trip. You'll live if I don't train today!"

As Sora sighed the other two boys faced him, ready to begin again. They started their fighting rather quickly, and I turned to Kairi to talk.

"What's been bothering you?" she asked before anything could even come out of my mouth. I think she's getting telepathic waves from Aerith or something. Honestly. I should have seen that coming. With a sigh I leaned back again the bench, my arms over my head as I watched the boys sparring. How was I going to explain?

"Well," I began, "It's kind of a long story."

"We have time," the redhead reminded me, "And you're going to be here for a few days, right?"

I bit my lip and shuffled my feet, already feeling defeat. Man, she was quick to get to the point.

"Okay, I guess I have to start the story from when I had a mission to Lasbruck..."

* * *

A hazy pink and orange color was painted across the sky, and at my side Kairi sighed deeply. We were still sitting on the bench while the boys took a water break across the ring from us at the fountain. The day had gone from clear and bright in the afternoon to warm and lazy-feeling at dusk, and now the sun had almost set.

"That's quite a story," Kairi commented, uncrossing her legs and shifting on the wooden bench. We had been sitting there for a while.

"Yeah," I admitted, "Even though Cid told me a little about him, I have a feeling that he knows more about him than he lets on. I'm just going to have to find out!"

We stood, stretching, and found Sora, Riku and Roxas heading back over to us. "Want to get some ice cream?"

"What?" Kairi gaped, "Roxas, we haven't eaten yet! It's only four, if we eat now it will-"

"C'mon, Kairi," Sora begged, "Just this once. If we get hungry later...I'll cook something, okay?"

"Fine on all accounts except that you will be cooking," Riku said with a smirk, "Last time you blew up-"

"I thought we weren't going to mention that again!"

"Guys, let's just get going and-"

"But ice cream, now?! Really, it's just-"

I sighed, looking at Roxas who only gave a sheepish shrug as the three continued arguing. With a nod I started back towards the stairs with Roxas in tow, leaving them to bicker. We were halfway up the steps when they realized we had left and hurried to catch up with us. I, for one, wanted ice cream – even after Kairi's food, nothing compares to the delicacy that is Kisoz Cliff's famous sea-salt ice cream.

"Don't forget to get me something!"

"Sora! That's really impolite!"

"But Kairi-"

"Guys," I said in warning, and they quieted down. Together we were walking towards the edge of town, to the road I would take back to Autui. The days I had off went by very quickly, having spent them with my friends. I was reluctant to leave, but as always I knew that I had to – it was part of the job. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to have made friends in almost every city I visited. It was always hard leaving since I never knew when or if I'd return, but I always promised I would anyways.

Finally we came to where the buildings finally stopped and the wrought-iron gate into the city stood at the edge of town. The small parade stopped and I turned to face them, giving each a hug before once again shouldering the pack I placed on the ground.

"You'll be back, right?" Sora asked. I nodded and promised as I always did.

"Good luck," Kairi said with a soft smile, and Riku added, "And stay safe!"

"What? You don't think I can handle everything on my own?" I smiled in mock-offense.

"Of course you can," Roxas laughed, "Just be careful out there."

"I will," nodding, I waved as I passed under the city gates and out of the city.

"Make sure to write!" Kairi called, and I shouted back that I would. After that I hurried along the path, not because I wanted to leave but the sooner I was out sight of the city, the less sad I would feel. The road to Autui wasn't nearly as long as the road to Yemac-Til, but I hastened regardless. I wanted to talk with Aerith.


	5. Autui Festival

I rocked back and forth on my heels, looking calmly at the door in front of me. It was a nice door, I must say. There's a pineapple doorknocker on the front. I don't think I've mentioned it before, but Aerith got it for Cloud as a gag gift – his hair is rather gravity-defying like a pineapple's spines, after all – and since she gardens a lot, it fit her personality too. Not to mention that pineapples are a customary fruit of hospitality. Well, that's what they represent, and Aerith is one of the most welcoming people I know. I have no idea _why_ that's what they mean, even though they do taste pretty good.

What confused me even more is that I had already knocked and I was still waiting outside in the fading twilight. Already light was shining through the quaint house's windows, a sure sign the couple was home, and the chimney was puffing out smoke gently in the warm breeze. I scuffed my feet a bit against the bricks of the path, my gaze catching on the flowers in the garden. Some had bloomed while I was gone and others had faded, already past their peak. With a sigh I once again bounced up the steps, knocking on the door again.

This time it was pulled open after only a minute or so, a stressed Aerith meeting my gaze with a curious glance.

"Yuffie!" she said loudly, voice relieved but also strained. Something was up, "You're back! Come in, please! You were gone for so long this time!"

I took off my pack as I entered the warmth of the house, slipping out of my slightly muddy shoes, "Yeah, well, I wasn't busy the entire time. I had a job down in Kisoz Cliffs after my delivery to Yemac-Til, and I got a few days off-"

I stopped my rambling when I noted that the house was in a slight disarray and the kitchen bustling with activity. Aerith had been cooking, as I suspected, but Cloud was also hurrying around, gathering things and muttering to himself in a very un-Cloud-like manner.

"Cloud?" I asked tentatively as Aerith dashed to the stove, "Err, are you okay?"

"Fine, Yuffie," he answered curtly, although I could tell he was trying to be nice and not take it out on me (whatever it was). Obviously he was a little stressed, and Aerith looked the same. "If you don't mind not bothering me for a bit, I'm about to leave on a mission soon, and-"

The blond stopped talking when he deposited everything he had picked up, stuffing the various items (from toothpaste and a small tub of black goop that I assumed was grease to a worn-looking pair of knitted green and red socks) in with haste. I stood in the doorway, feeling out of place, and sighed deeply. It always seemed like our missions intersected; whenever I was gone, he got leave, and whenever I had arrived home, he was leaving for a new assignment again. That was the life of warriors-for-hire, I suppose. I couldn't even begin to imagine the toll it took on Aerith.

Slightly agitated, I decided to leave the mercenary to finish and instead stalked into the kitchen, though my mood brightened when I remember what I had really wanted to talk to Aerith about.

"So," I began, my tone considerably more conversational and pleasant (and innocent), "Cid told me what was in that letter."

Aerith looked at me, sweeping her bangs aside while stirring a pot of delicious-smelling soup. "Is that so?"

"Yes," I said, emphasizing my words, "He told me that you guys knew this guy Squall! And you didn't tell me!"

"Leon," Cloud said rather automatically from the next room. I raised my eyebrows.

"What?"

"He's right," Aerith said mildly, sticking a finger in her mouth to sample her cooking, "He goes by Leon now."

Puzzled as I was, I just continued, "Anyways, Cid said that he moved to Lasbruck a while back and that you hadn't really been able to keep in touch with him."

Aerith nodded, "That pretty much sums it up. You know how much Cloud hates writing letters – he barely ever writes me, even away on a mission!"

"Yes, well," the blond in question grunted, "I didn't see you try sending him anything either."

"Oh, I did," Aerith said, a bit smugly, "I just gave up after he replied with three sentences. In each letter! Really. He's a stubborn ass when he really wants to be."

A sharp knock on the door drew my attention away from the conversation, and I thought I heard Cloud mutter something along the lines of 'Speaking of which...' before he picked up his bag and strapped on his sword, heading for the doorway.

"What?! You're leaving now?!" I said, sliding off the stool I had perched on and following him to the front door.

"Yes, Yuffie," Cloud said, and jerked the door open quite suddenly. Aerith had appeared by my side, setting a hand on my shoulder in comfort. I felt something tug at my heart seeing him stepping outside, but my blood ran cold at the second emotionless voice.

"Strife."

"Leonheart," Cloud said with equal passiveness. I rushed to the door, peeking outside in shock.

He was just...standing there. Waiting, like any normal person would, but at the same time, my throat caught just seeing him again.

He looked almost exactly the same as the time I saw him before, minus the rain and the wind and the skilled assassin attacking my behind. When it was dry it was much more noticeable that his hair was a rich shade of brown, somewhere between milk chocolate and a darker color that reminded me of mahogany. It was shaggy but at the same time well-kept, looking just as silky as it had when it was wet. Now that I could see him more clearly, it did sort of look like a lion's mane, and with a jolt I recognized the familiar scar that ran diagonal across the bridge of his nose.

Before I could stop myself, "It's you!" flew out of my mouth and I was teetering precariously on the edge of the top step, barely noticing that I still had bare feet. His ice-like eyes flickered to me for a moment and I felt a shiver run through me despite the fact that it was early June.

I gulped, "I mean...uh..."

I could tell that his look was now skeptical, though barely a flicker of emotion passed over his face. He turned to Cloud, but I continued speaking.

"In Lasbruck," I said, fumbling with my words, "Err – I don't know, a couple weeks ago? The really rainy night! You, umm, saved me from that assassin-"

Once again I paused as his gaze raked over me, and I felt more defenseless than an accomplished Runner and member of the underground organization should. He nodded in what I assumed was recognition, his glance finally ending with his piercing eyes locked on mine.

I shrugged, suddenly losing the will to struggle with my mouth, "I just wanted to say thank you," I said softly, "So...thank you. I probably would have gotten my ass whipped if you hadn't shown up."

After what seemed like a forever of silence, he just nodded again and said, "Don't mention it." His voice sounded different, but maybe it was because he wasn't shouting over the booming thunder and the heavy downpour like he was last time. I felt myself nodding vaguely and I hovered by the doorway, watching him silently as Aerith and Cloud said their goodbyes. Soon enough the pair were leaving and they quickly faded in the cover of darkness. Aerith gently pushed me inside and went by me to return to the kitchen, a solemn look on her face. I leaned against the closed front door, blood rushing so loud I could hear it rather loudly in my ears. With a deep breath I regained my composure and followed Aerith into the kitchen.

I was barely able to sit I was so jumpy. Like a broken record, my mind replayed the sound of his voice over and over again, and in my mind's eye I could see his face perfectly, comparing it to when I had first met him.

"You seem rather lost in thought," Aerith commented, and I nodded like I was paying attention. She laughed softly and continued cooking, and before long I snapped out of my reverie when a plate of steaming cookies and a glass of milk were placed in front of me. Aerith sat across from me not a moment later, a steaming mug of tea cupped in her hands.

"Yuffie," the brown-haired woman chided gently, "You've come a long way. Eat something." She nudged the plate closer, sensing my reluctance.

I sighed, grabbing one and stuffing it into my mouth. In truth I was rather hungry, but there were so many things in my mind I didn't have time to think of eating. Even now my thoughts were swirling, and I swallowed and jammed another cookie in my mouth. Aerith's cooking is amazing. (A little comfort food never hurt anyone, I told myself.)

When I looked up, she had a small smile on her face as she rubbed her thumb along the lip of her mug, staring into the swirling tea.

"He'll be back," I said quietly, and she laughed lightly.

"I know, Yuf, I know," Aerith sighed again, "But you know how I always worry."

"That makes two of us," I joked, though even I knew that it wouldn't really lighten the mood. We sat in silence a little longer before I spoke up again, shuffling my feet awkwardly.

"I saw all my friends in Kisoz Cliffs while I was down there," I told her, feeling the need to fill the uncomfortable (and unusual) silence with something, "Everyone is doing okay. They're all really worried about me though. It's funny. You and Kairi really are alike."

"You always say that, Yuffie," Aerith chuckled, "I know you'd like for everyone to meet up, so why don't you to invite them to Autui's annual festival? It's coming up soon."

"I-what?!" I gaped at her, "The annual festival?! It's already- Why didn't I know about this!? Why doesn't anybody tell me these things?!"

"Yuffie, the festival is always in the beginning of June," Aerith said slowly, trying to suppress her laughter, "That would be the sixth month of the year. You know that the festival is the half-year celebration, that's the point!"

"I know, I know, you don't have to rub it in!" I said, scratching the back of my head, "I just didn't think it was coming up so quickly!"

"Well? Will you invite your friends up here?"

I hesitated; it was only in a few days. "No," I said finally, "It's too short notice for such a long journey. I can do it in about a day and a half, but I'm trained to go long distances. I run most of the way, and I don't have to carry the things they'd need to bring – spare clothes, festival costumes, food for the journey-"

Aerith nodded, "True, true. You're right. Still, maybe next time you get down there you should bring some of Autui's famous festival dishes down there. I'm sure they'd appreciate it."

I grinned, taking another cookie while Aerith sipped her tea.

"It won't be the same without Cloud here, though," I mentioned, and my gardener friend nodded.

"It was rather unfortunate that he had to go at this time, especially because of the festival. But since Leon's with him, I know he'll be okay."

I paused, cookie halfway to my mouth, and I looked at Aerith with round eyes.

"What do you know about him?" I asked tentatively.

"There's not much more to tell, Yuffie," she smiled, "Leon has always been a little-"

"Antisocial?"

"I suppose you could call it that. He just doesn't open up to people very quickly."

"No kidding," I murmured dryly, polishing off the third cookie with some milk, "We're gonna go to the festival together this year, right?"

"Of course!" Aerith's mood brightened, "It's a tradition! Since you mentioned it, we probably need to go shopping for a new costume for you, right?"

I groaned – only Aerith could switch the topic to shopping that quickly. It was too late to stop her, though, and she continued talking about the latest fashions and styles for the festival and all the fun we would have. I ended up staying the night in the guest room (or as Cloud put it, my second bedroom) and I quickly fell asleep from my long journey. In a few ways I was glad that Aerith let me stay over; sometimes it's nice just to be near other people. My brain buzzed with excitement as I drifted into unconsciousness, filled with the thoughts of the upcoming festival.

* * *

"Aerith, come on! We're gonna be LATE!" I whined.

"Calm down, Yuffie!" the gardener called, voice muffled by the door that separated us, "The festival lasts all night, there's no way we could be late!"

I huffed and muttered under my breath, "At the rate you're going, we'll be lucky to get there at dawn!"

"I heard that!"

I couldn't fight back the smile that appeared on my lips at Aerith's response. The two days we had spent together getting ready for the festival had re-ignited our long friendship. Well, more accurately, it strengthened our sisterly bond. I honestly couldn't be happier that things were getting back to normal.

"Are you done yet?" I asked for the umpteenth time.

"Yuffie!" Aerith sighed in exasperation, cracking the door open, "I'm almost done, but-"

"But?" I echoed, giving her a Look.

She rolled her eyes irritably at my impatience, "Will you tie my sash? I can't do it myself."

"Fine, fine," I said, pushing the door open the rest of the way and entering the room. The brown-haired woman stuck out her arms on either side, giving me enough room to wrap the obi sash around her waist. I went to work knotting it in the back, and Aerith set her arms down gently, the sleeves of her kimono brushing softly against my fingers. Finally I finished, and I stepped back to look over my friend's choice of festival wear.

After dragging me back and forth across Autui, we had finally chosen our traditional costumes for the festival. In celebration of half of the year gone by, Autui's annual festival was always in June and the entire city got caught up in decorations and celebrations. As we passed through the streets yesterday and the day before, colorful lanterns were already being strung up across the streets and hung on buildings. I swear, there was a haze above the city from all of the cooking in preparation.

Aerith had chosen a traditional kimono in a fresh, pale spring green that faded in and out to white. Embroidered on the hem and at intervals were light purple and white water lilies and shining green lily pads, with petals sewn delicately around them. Her obi was white and lavender, and I slipped around to her front to finish tying the gold braided rope in a simple knot.

"There. Can we go now?"

"Yes, Yuffie," she said, overly patient, "Now we can go."

She smiled radiantly, tucking a few stray strands from her bangs back behind her ears. The rest of her hair was out of its usual single braid and instead hung in two intricate braids that she tied with white ribbons. Straightening her hair so that one braid hung down in front of each shoulder, she smiled into the mirror and turned towards me.

"All right!" I cried, punching one fist into the air.

Aerith chuckled at my eagerness, following behind me at a slower pace to the front door. We slipped on our sandals over our tabi socks and headed out towards Autui.

"I can smell it already!" I grinned, taking a deep breath and picking up my speed.

"Yuffie," Aerith called out warningly, "Don't go too fast! You can move faster that I can, but you aren't going to leave me behind!"

I stopped and waited for her to catch up, excited by the sun setting and the sky slowly turning orange and red. Soon enough the lanterns would be lit, and I couldn't wait to get into the city.

We started walking again at a good pace, and we chatted quietly about the night to come. The city quickly came into view, people coming from all directions and the streets already bustling with people. Aerith smiled.

She looked thoughtfully at me for a moment, and I raised my eyebrows.

"What?"

The brown-haired woman laughed, "Nothing, nothing, Yuf. I was just thinking that your festival costume looks good in the sunset."

"All thanks to you," I said jokingly, although Aerith had helped me pick something out. In the end I had chosen something simple that wouldn't make me stand out too much but still 'accented my features' or whatever Aerith called it. My kimono wasn't exactly traditional, as it stopped a few inches above my knees and showed a bit more of my thin legs than would have been considered acceptable when the festival first began several hundred years ago. It was pure white with bright red-orange tiger lilies clustered here and there on the sleeves and body of the kimono. My obi was white layered on red, so only the edges of the bright color accented the flowers.

"I'm serious," Aerith said with another smile, "It was the right choice."

"Says the woman who spent the better part of two days picking stuff out for us to wear," I replied, but a smile worked its way back onto my face. We spent the rest of the way into the city mildly bantering and laughing.

The streets were filled as we strolled along, all sorts of delicious scents from the food stalls washing over us. Overhead the sky was darkening and the sun had just set, orange-red still on the horizon, but the light was fading quickly.

Suddenly everyone gasped, and I looked around with awe. Lanterns began turning on one by one until they were all lit, casting bright colors all over the crowd. Laughter filled the air and I breathed in the excitement.

"About time," Aerith commented, and I nodded.

"Let's get something to eat before the parades begin, okay?" I asked, and when Aerith agreed we weaved through the crowd to the food stalls. Already I could hear drums and people singing, a sure sign that a parade was around the corner. As expected, Aerith and I were soon wrapped up in the festivities, celebrating late into the night.

* * *

I awoke to sunlight streaming through my (second) bedroom's windows, my hair rumpled from sleep. Reluctantly I rolled over, still tired and sore from a night of dancing and singing and eating, and I noted that I still had on my kimono, though it was wrinkled and would need to be washed. I sighed. No use trying to fall back asleep now that I was awake.

I slipped out of my festival clothes and redressed in my normal attire, leaving the garment folded on the bed. Aerith still wasn't up yet when I entered the kitchen, so I wrote her a quick note and headed out. My legs were tired but I needed a good stretch, and walking in the clear morning air was what my fuzzy head needed.

Shutting the front door behind me, I paused to sniff Aerith's flowers in the warm breeze. Everything seemed alive today, but my spirit was dampened from the late night.

It was more than that, and I knew it. Still, I lied to myself as I walked along, heading back towards the larger city. It didn't help one bit, though, because as I strolled my mind wandered more than my feet did.

The festival had been a great way to get my mind off things, but now I couldn't escape them. My thoughts still lingered on Squa- Leon, I reminded myself, and my recent missions. It had been several days since I had been given leave, and I wondered how long it would be until I was allowed to start working again. It gave me something to do, sure, but staying in one place too long made me restless.

My feet had unconsciously led me through the city I grew up in, and quite suddenly I realized where I was headed. The alleyways looked much less menacing with the clear sky above and the remnants of the late night festivities still strewn about.

I stopped when I reached the door, my subconscious destination, and frowned when I noticed the sheet of paper tacked to the front. I stepped closer.

"To all who pass through here of our business:

In celebration of Autui's annual festival, this office shall be closed three days before and three days after. All assignments will be distributed upon reopening. If you are from another city and have business here, return to the office you came from and paperwork shall be done there. If you are looking for work, go to another city. If you are the resident bird, you have been assigned a week of mandatory relaxation courtesy of your buddy Z. **Congratulations**!?"

I finished reading the sheet out loud and frowned in disbelief. A week of no work!? How would I survive?! Still, I couldn't complain as it was an order. A ridiculous one, but an order. I turned on my heel, stalking back through the way I came and heading towards the marketplace. It looked as if I'd be spending a week with Aerith, and we'd need more food. Wouldn't hurt as a bribe, either. Anything for her to make me more cookies and keep my mind off of the unbearable boredom and anxiety.


	6. Big Trouble in Little Lasbruck

It's been three days into my impromptu, order-induced vacation, and I could feel the restlessness in my bones. Okay, maybe that was exaggerating a little bit. I never was able to sit still, and it infuriated everyone around me when I couldn't stop fidgeting. This, however, was a forced week off and I was powerless in trying to change that fact. Unfortunately for me, it meant that Aerith had even more excuses to drag me along with her to the market, as I frequently and loudly complained of boredom.

So that's where I was – being dragged along by my brown-haired friend, that is – grumbling to myself as the flower girl perused the open-air markets in Autui. In a desperate attempt to distract myself, I wandered away from where Aerith was examining fruit, instead browsing a weaponry tent. Of course, I still had the shuriken Cid had given me over a week ago (he would be surprised to hear I hadn't lost, damaged, or forgotten any yet) but it was fun to see the displays of swords and the like; things that I would never be able to use. I may be good at running, but I would probably end up cutting off one of my own fingers if I tried to use something that large. Small daggers and throwing stars were fine with me.

I continued to browse idly, glancing back and sighing when I saw that Aerith was still preoccupied with vegetables. As I passed the gap between one tent and the next, I was pulled into one of the nearby alleyways, a hand clapping over my mouth before I could shout.

"Mmmmft!" I complained, my voice muffled, and I did my best to escape my captors, successfully kicking one in the groin in my attempts.

"Osprey!"

I looked around, noticing two other men besides the one that had grabbed me. They were...dressed in the uniform of- _shit_. _I just kicked my employers in the balls!_

Swearing under my breath, I paled slightly, "Uh, sorry! You really surprised me! Why didn't you just ask me to follow you instead of jumping me?! I-"

The men glanced at each other, chuckling, and helped their buddy off the ground. "We should have known," one said to the other, wincing, "Her reflexes are great – if we had actually been attacking her she would have gotten away. No wonder she's a great runner."

I gaped, shocked. They weren't...mad at me? I laughed nervously, rubbing the back of my head, "Really! I'm sorry! Err – what did you want me for anyways?"

"Urgent assignment," the tallest spoke, motioning for us to follow him through the alleyways, "from headquarters. Another package needs to be delivered to Lasbruck, pronto. Sorry to take you off your vacation, but no other runners could be spared. We're pretty swamped."

I snorted; it was no loss to me that I didn't have the rest of my 'week off' – it was more like torture sitting around doing nothing. Aerith is nice, but a girl can only take so much tea and cookies. I'm a girl of action, and this sounded like exactly what I needed.

When I snapped myself out of my inner musings, I found that my guides had led us back to Autui's offices. There they gave me my package (a bulky and lumpy thing, wrapped in brown paper and then stuffed into a waterproof bag – it was going to Lasbruck, after all) and gave me the address for the delivery. After a quick ten-minute briefing I was stepping outside again, package in my arms and orders to leave as soon as possible. First, though, I had to find Aerith so she could- Aerith! Oh, geez, she was going to slaughter me for leaving her and not telling her where I was going! I sped up my pace, not caring about the odd looks I was receiving from the people I passed.

Finally, swerving through the crowded streets, I made my way back to the marketplace. And, predictably, there stood Aerith – eyes blazing, hands on her hips, and fuming when I came into her line of sight. I slowly approached her, keeping my mouth shut to not further aggravate her. She was practically steaming when I got close enough to her that she could grab me. The brown-haired woman did, dragging me out of the market and down a less crowded street before stopping and turning to face me, a large frown on her face.

"Yuffie," was all she said, prompting me for an explanation. I was happy to oblige, hoping she wouldn't be too mad at me that she wouldn't bake me something before I left.

"Aerith," I whined, "I'm sorry! I was just wandering around waiting for you to finish when my boss grabbed me and had to drag me off for a new assignment! It's really important, Aerith, I couldn't get away from the meeting and I got all my stuff and I'm supposed to leave as soon as possible and-"

"What!?"

I clamped my mouth shut. Her green eyes were wide, had been widening throughout my explanation, and she finally sighed, looking away.

"Another mission already?" she said quietly.

"I know, Aerith, I'm sorry." I let my shoulders sag, my heart clenching with guilt. Dammit. "But...it's only a delivery. I'll be going to Lasbruck, so...maybe I'll see that Squ- Leon guy, and Cloud's working with him, right? So..." I trailed off, watching her face.

She rolled her eyes at my rambling, smiling faintly, "All right. Sorry for getting upset with you...you really worry me, you know?" Oh, I knew. But I smiled, if only to get her in a better mood, and we started walking off towards Aerith's house – me holding the package and Aerith laden with groceries.

It was all too soon, in Aerith's opinion, that I was leaving again. That didn't stop her from making a fuss over me before I left, though. Before I knew it I had a bag of cookies and rice balls for my journey and she was pushing me out the door, chiding me that the sooner I left the sooner I would be back. Knowing that was her way of avoiding a tearful goodbye, I waved from down the road, grinning in the fading afternoon light. Adjusting the pack more securely for running, I took off at a good pace down the dirt road, heading northeast to Lasbruck.

Okay, and I admit: I _was_ looking forward to possibly seeing Leon again. The rain, though, I wasn't happy about at all.

As predicted (okay, as it usually was), it was raining in Lasbruck. Apparently, when the stars align, they _actually_ have a sunny day! Ha, ha. Really, though, I've never seen the city in full sunlight. And while it's said that it gets good weather, I'm pretty sure it's a lie to keep the economy going. Er, not that it's needed – Lasbruck is full of nobles after all.

Anyways. The gray and dreary rain wasn't the first thing I noticed upon approaching Lasbruck. Even from miles away something seemed amiss, though I couldn't put my finger on it. Maybe it was the lack of traffic on the normally busy road, or the faint smell of smoke (despite the rain) but whatever it was, it put my senses on alert. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw when I faced the city's gates.

I couldn't stop the gasp that instinctively took hold of my throat, my eyes probably the size of saucers at what lay before me. Lasbruck's large, protective gates, the only way into the city that was surrounded by large walls – it was destroyed in a cruel display of twisted, bent metal and splintered wood. The hole where something – _something big,_ I added to myself –had gone through was still singed, embers of the wood smoking slightly and metal a dull, but hot, orange.

When I regained movement in my feet I darted quickly through the gap, taking refuge on the rooftops and keeping my weapons close at hand. Who knows what had broken into the city – and from what I saw around me, it wasn't good. Not a lot of the buildings were burning, but the ones that were let off huge black clouds of smoke, even visible in the rain. Well, that's what I probably smelled earlier. The city stunk of smoke and ash, and things I probably didn't identify. I temporarily forgot my delivery, instead trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

I headed towards the sounds of clashing metal and the roar of fighting, unsure. Was there an uprising of some sort, or was someone trying to take control of the city? From the looks of, I wasn't much far off. From my perch I could see the town square, usually a quiet but pleasant place, filled with men slashing away. Some looked hired, I noted by the crests on some of them that displayed allegiances of families, but there were some that were very strange. In fact, I saw with a frown forming, many of them fell at the hands of several fighters dressed in long cloaks coverin-

_Thwack!_

I jumped, startled into action as a knife thudded behind me. _Talk about déjà vu!_ There was nothing I could do but swing down into the streets and duck through the alleyways, hoping that if there were fighters on the roofs I could avoid them by ducking inside somewhere. _Ah! That was it!_Grinning at my idea, I sped up my pace, taking a winding and confusing route (in case anyone was following me, too) and finally coming to the heavy door of the offices at Lasbruck. I could probably get away with dropping off my package at the headquarters here instead of the address, considering the riot-like uproar that had taken hold of the city.

I tried to push open the door, but it didn't budge. Odd. There was almost always someone inside in case of emergencies. Although, this _was_ an emergency...I knocked, just in case. An eye slot opened, one of the secretaries looking out, and the door opened inward when they recognized me. Thank goodness! I was soaked to the bone and dripping, but I still had my package and I didn't think I was followed.

"Osprey, reporting," I said, still panting slightly and sliding the pack off my back. The waterproof bag stuck to my skin, but when I opened it to check on the package inside it was still dry. I sighed in relief.

"Is it all right if I leave the delivery here? It's nuts outside! Err, what exactly is going on?" my eyebrows furrowed as I glanced from person to person in the offices; they were all silent, some looking nervous.

"Osprey...I'm sure you noticed, but there is an uprising here in Lasbruck. It broke out earlier today and has continued...we don't really know much about the situation," the man behind the desk spoke, his face unrevealed by the black cloak that covered him, hood up, "It's good you came here instead of delivering this, the nobles are in an uproar and many are in hiding...there are hired men out there battling it out for the nobles, but who knows who has teamed up with who. Osprey...would you mind going on a slightly different mission than usual?"

I swallowed thickly at the information, not quite as shocked as I had been when I first witnessed the city, but this was a big surprise. Sure, the nobles were bigots and haughty aristocrats, but nothing like this had ever happened before. "What...what do you mean by 'different'?"

"Collecting intelligence on the situation. Your speed and adaptability, as well as stealth, would really be of use for this kind of job. We'll pair you with proper protection, of course...reconnaissance is important right now when we don't know what we're up against, or who. Will you do it?"

"...Yes," I answered without too much mental debate. I'd never done it before, but collecting information couldn't be too bad, right? Besides, I was very stealthy – I wasn't a thief as a kid for no reason.

"Good, it's settled, then," the boss's tone was pleased, even though I couldn't see his face, and I relaxed a little, "You've had a long journey, so you can rest up while we figure out the situation and get you a partner. Be ready to start in four or so hours. You're dismissed."

I relaxed, moving to the door to the barracks – every office had several rooms where workers could stay the night – and upon entering a small bunk room I flopped onto one of the beds. There wasn't really a ton that could be done in four hours, but napping seemed like a good idea to me; after all, I'd been on an emergency run to Lasbruck in the last 24 hours. I stripped out of my waterlogged clothes, drying off with a towel found in one of the drawers, and laying them out to dry as best as they could. (Okay, I know it was in vain, since I'd be going out into the bad weather soon enough, but it wouldn't hurt.) I slipped under the sheets, already warming up, and I dozed lightly for however long it was until knocking was heard at my door. Without hesitation I put my damp uniform back on and shouldered my empty pack, heading into the lobby.

"Osprey, there you are. We've figured out your assignment and-"

"It's you!" I refrained from pointing with all my self-restraint, gaping at the man in front of me. "Sq-Leon-"

"Osprey!" the boss's snap made me close my mouth hurriedly, but I continued to glance at him out of the corner of my eyes through the entire briefing.

"You two will be paired together to gather the intelligence on the current situation here in Lasbruck. Osprey, you'll focus on collecting information about what's going on, and he'll be your backup and protection. Don't take too many risks, and don't get caught in the fighting. Who knows how many we've already lost in this one way or another...Right. Be back here in two hours with anything you've found out."

The cloaked man had barely finished speaking and the brown-haired man I was with was heading for the door. I noticed, belatedly, that as well as his normal attire (black leather jacket with furry rim, wet black leather pants...woah. Gah, Yuffie, focus!) he had on a dark hooded cloak to protect himself from the rain. In one hand he also held a mean-looking weapon; a gunblade with a cold, sharp looking edge and sturdy metal making up its design. It looked heavy. I quickly took step behind him, stepping into the rain with a frown and noting the orange glow sent up into the sky.

As soon as we were out of the alleyway and threading through side streets, I took step beside him. "Um, Leon, right? Hey, what happened? I thought you and Cloud were on a mission together! He's not hurt or anything, is he?"

The glance he gave me was icy, but it looked like faint surprise and confusion. Probably that I was so up front with him. "Cloud's fine," he said after a moment, "Our mission terminated a few days ago, and he went home to Aerith. I don't think either of them know what's going on."

"That's a relief," I sighed. Aerith wasn't the only one that worried about the blond, "Man, I can't believe all of this..."

He didn't respond. More than once he pulled me to the side, flattening against a wall in the shadows so we wouldn't be noticed by people running by. After a particularly close call, a grimace clouded his face.

"Maybe we should take to the rooftops," I suggested, adjusting my pack slightly, "It's a little slippery up there because of the rain, but we'd be able to see better."

When Leon nodded in mute agreement, we began threading through the alleyways to search for a way up – stacked crates, a ladder, a tall fence; anything would have worked at this point. It seemed like the downpour was only getting worse, numbing my skin with cold and constant pounding. I almost slipped, but my flailing arms managed to grab Leon for support (which he didn't look too happy about, but he didn't complain either). Our search led us farther away from the riots and fighting, unlighted alleys becoming darker and more shady – no pun intended. Sighting stacks of barrels at the end of one, I ran over to it – just to make sure.

"Leon! Over here!" I called out, turning to look over my shoulder – but I was left blinking; he wasn't behind me anymore. Maybe he was out at the mouth of the alley still, and didn't see me go in. "Leon?" I shouted again, my voice barely audible over the thundering rain.

I heard a loud splash behind me and turned on my heel, only to meet a black figure head-on, barely defending myself from the attack. I couldn't even shout for help, breathing hard to ward off my attacker. It was useless, though, as I heard another person behind me too late before I felt a sharp pain in my head and my world blacked out completely.


	7. Seeing Red

The stale darkness of the admittedly gaudy meeting room was dispelled somewhat by the light of a few well placed candles which littered the space's interior. In the center a massive, oval-shaped desk seated for thirteen was sparsely attended with only two of its number seated thus. Near the head of the table Zexion sat upright in his chair, ice blue eyes peering curious and attentive towards the room's other inhabitant. Seated across was the lounging, lazy figure of a man with a mane of red hair and glossy eyes or emerald.

"You're playing a dangerous game you know." Deft fingers rose to play at a few locks of his fiery hair. "As much as I love our chats you should know this isn't just a social call." Zexion blinked, then nodded in a grave manner. His seriousness seemed to clash with the lackadaisical nature displayed by his companion. "So, you're turning your back on the organization?" Axel's emerald hues swiveled away from the ceiling, centering on Zexion as he finally assumed a more upright posture.

It was quiet for a moment before Zexion answered. "I'm turning my back on _his_ organization. Things in Lasbruck have gotten out of hand. If this is the sort of leadership we can expect, why continue to follow?" Lifting his right hand, the bookish youth motioned towards Axel with an open hand. "Besides, as you can see we already have what we need to break away."

With a frown, the assassin lifted his right hand and with a dexterous twist produced a small key complimented by a gold chain. "You mean this?" Axel followed this with something of an incredulous snort. "You know I'm the guy in the organization tasked with uncovering traitors right?" With a shake of his head and a knowing smile, Zexion responded in kind. "I'm fully aware, in fact, that's why I chose you in the first place. You're the least likely to be suspected as a turn-coat."

Finally Axel dropped his pretense of non-chalance, voice growing deathly serious. "And if I do flip, what can I expect in return? My loyalty isn't easily bought out." It was Zexion's turn to play at smug coolness. "I don't think that'll be a problem. Work with me and I'll tell you where _he_ is." Axel's eyes narrowed to the point of daggers as the edges of his lips played at a frown. There was a tense moment of silence before he spoke. "Fine, I understand. I'll play along for now." Twisting the key over again in his hands, Axel continued. "So, if you've found this that must mean you know where the package is? Can I assume it was the one _she_ was carrying?"

In a manner uncharacteristic to his normal coolness, it was Zexion's turn to stare in shock at Axel's revelation. "You sure do know how to pick 'em Zex'. I just really have to wonder if she's up to the task?"

* * *

As the light slowly returned to Yuffie's vision she was acutely aware of a stinging pain which throbbed at the back of her cranium. 'How long was I out?' The internal quip drifted perilously through her mind, independent thoughts playing at the edges of her barely conscious mind. It was only the clash of steel on steel, metal on raw metal which drew her from her reverie. In an instant her purple-tinged hues were drawn upwards to the sight of two figures dancing in the distance.

Sparks flew as two metallic implements bit into each other which a savage ferocity. Gathering herself up, Yuffie took a stand on one woobly leg, then two. It only took a few seconds for the weakness to subside, yet the throbbing pain in the back of her head remained. From where she was the runner could clearly distinguish that one of the figures was Leon. The swift and efficient motion with which he hefted his weapon, as well as its distinctive shape were instant give-aways. As for the other figure, Yuffie wasn't so sure.

The mysterious figure was cloaked all in black, in which appeared to be some sort of hooded cloak. The whole thing was as black as midnight and the stranger had his hood drawn up so as to conceal his face. No doubt this stranger was responsible for her injuries! The runner couldn't help but be indignant, despite the obvious danger, Who did he think he was!

Drawing the over-sized shuriken from her back, Yuffie lowered herself into a more centered, battle stance, before dashing forward into the fray.

* * *

With a minute twist of his wrist, Leon deftly maneuvered the hilt of his sword, working the blade upwards against the axis of his wrist. His second hand pulled back lightly against the end of the handle, providing the necessary leverage at the other end of the fulcrum. In a flash the blade sung upwards, its polished length for the briefest of moment's reflecting Leon's determined face back at him. But the blow was not to be. Just as quickly the stranger took a jumping, half-step back as Leon's sword filled the cavity in space he'd occupied just a moment before.

'Not getting away that easily.' The warrior's inner monologue was muted as he stepped forward, rushing to fill the previously created gap. If the antagonistic stranger was looking for a reprieve he was going to be sorely mistaken. Leon's blade clashed against two spiked, circular weapons the two men continued to circle one another, each looking for an opening to exploit. The tension in the air was thick enough to be cut and despite his previous battlefield experience Leon could feel the tiniest beads of sweat beginning to play at his brow. It'd been a long time since he'd faced someone this good.

A nano-second before he lunged in for another attack the brunette's eyes caught site of another figure playing at the edge of his vision. It was the runner girl he'd been assigned to, 'Osprey' right? Leon was critical in his estimation of her abilities, after all, she'd been knocked off guard and out before she could even alert him to her danger. Still, to have made it so far in the organization she must have had some fighting ability? It was time to find out.

Leaning back, the over confident stranger threw one of the strange weapons, chakrams, over his shoulder. If he hadn't been wearing a hood the duo could have sworn he was grinning. "Well, that was a good warm-up at least." With his other hand a beckoning finger motioned forward mockingly, the motion was combined with an amused laugh. "Come 'ere, I'll make it all stop." Leon lunged in, trading a couple more blows with the stranger before being forced back by a hard kick to the chest. He recovered quickly, sliding to a stop next to the runner he was supposed to protect. It was now or never.

Despite their lack of previous work experience together, the duo leapt into action as one. Leon's gunblade danced along rote lines, each practiced swing executed perfectly from memory. The stranger dodged and weaved about, but Leon could feel the gap in their abilities closing. From the side a hail of shuriken released at the perfect moment from the little runner threw his opponent off guard. Forced to choose between a counter-strike and deflecting a horde of sharp pointy-bits, the stranger chose the latter; it was a fatal mistake. The instant of inattention Leon was provided was enough for him to close the distance.

Both of the swordsman's strong hands gripped his weapon as he leveled it directly in front of him. With easy efficiency his fore-finger found the trigger just as the tip of his blade was leveled with the distracted stranger's chest. "Dodge this." Beneath the dark of the hood Leon could see a tiny flash of light that could only be realization leaking into his opponent's eyes. With an uncharacteristic smirk Leon pulled the trigger.

The gunblade's oiled chamber rotated, magical ammunition readied as the weapon's hammer was drawn back and released. For Leon, it was like a cannon going off in his hands, his feet forced back in the dirt by the intense recoil of the weapon. His arms bent slightly as the tip of the weapon rose up to help bleed off some of the incredible kick-back. The stranger wasn't so lucky though. From the gunblade's tip a massive fireball sailed the few necessary feet to reach its target. There was nowhere to go: it was point blank range.

The fireball caught the stranger square in the chest, lifting him completely off of his feet and throwing him like a rag-doll across the rooftop. There wasn't any flashy mid-air recovery this time either, just the sound of limp meat smacking against hard roof-tiles. Lowering his weapon Leon let out an unconscious breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. It'd been a long time since he'd done that, he'd forgotten how good it felt. Still, the mysterious figure wasn't to be subdued quite yet. As astonishment spread across Leon and Yuffie's faces the figure rose again, although this time without his usual non-chalant swagger. "No way. . ." Yuffie couldn't help but let the peep escape her lips. The stranger had a single hand pressed against his chest, obviously to provide a bit of pressure for his gaping wound.

"Well. . . that was quite the show." The stranger got the words out after a moment of struggling, finally rising to his feet. Leon maintained his composure but Yuffie couldn't hide her dumbfounded expression. This guy had just taken a fireball full blast to the center of his chest, what was he even made out of!? When Leon spoke, it was in his usual, cool tone, albeit this time with a bit more of an edge on it. "You're not like the hired hands, what do you want?"

Despite his grievous injuries the stranger could help but patronize the swordsman, it was in his nature after all. "You're right, I'm not concerned with you, you're just a small fry. I'm here for the runner." The stranger's words hit Yuffie like a bucket of ice water, all this was over her? Confusion was the next in a long train of emotions, after all, the most intense drama she'd played a part in up into this point was being a maid of honor at Aerith's wedding and that certainly didn't compare to life-or-death struggles. It was melodramatic even.

"Back off." Leon's reply was curt and menacing. Not a man to mince words he was straight to the point, once again leveling his rather significant weapon into a defensive position. This development seemed to amuse the cloaked figure. "Relax lover boy, just here to ask a few questions." At this latest statement the duo was more than incredulous, he'd just tried to cut them limb from limb and now he was acting as cheery as a summer's day.

"You, runner." Yuffie perked up. "A little while ago you delivered a package to Sector Gamma. I want to know what was inside and where its headed now." Shock dawned on Yuffie's features, how could he have known about the package. Only the organization knew, that and the man who'd—then it hit her like a lightning bolt. Shock turned into realization, then into annoyance. "You're the one who was after me before, aren't you." The figure replied, "Pretty quick for a delivery girl, well, you got lucky that time. Now, the box?" It was clear the stranger wouldn't divert from this line of questioning so Yuffie answered curtly. She adopted an indignant tone to match her ruffled appearance. He'd nearly killed her all for this? "It was a trade agreement between two of the industrial houses. The organization didn't tell me the particulars." Normally it wouldn't been against her training to reveal the nature of her delivery, but the agreement was sure to be common knowledge by now anyway; she'd made the delivery more than a week ago. "Lies then? Well, I suppose I should've expected as much." The stranger hefted his weapons again, assuming a battle stance once more before suddenly stopping.

As the whole scene between the three of them had been developing the sounds of distant fighting had begun to fade away. By now they'd died down to the occasional, clank of steel or moaning of injured warriors. From beneath his hood the stranger's eyes seemed to have been drawn to an item in the distance. Cautiously the dynamic duo turned away from their erstwhile enemy to look at the area where he was gazing. From atop one of the higher parapets a giant flag had been erected bearing the arms of one of Lasbruck's noble houses. The raising of the standard signaled success in the field, it was obvious the fighting had reached its conclusion: one of the noble houses had won.

"Sorry boys and girls, looks like our showdown is going to have to wait." The reluctant tone in which the stranger spoke denoted his desire to continue the fight, but there appeared to be circumstances beyond his control which were forcing him to pursue a different course of action. "Try not to get into too much trouble." A sardonic smirk could be seen beneath the veil of his hood, a parting gift as the stranger took a few steps back. Finally he reached the edge of the roof, dropping down backwards as he stepped off, vanishing beneath the lip of the roof's tiles.

With the stranger's passing both remaining combatants let out a breath they hadn't realized they'd been holding. Relaxing the slightest iota, Leon allowed the tip of his weapon to drop, metallic point playing gently against the rigid black shingles. There was silence between them for a moment, then Leon spoke. "Friend of yours?" Yuffie's eyes turned to the confident swordsman, unsure for a moment how to respond. For a second she thought she sensed a bit of sarcasm but it was so far buried beneath his icy exterior she couldn't be sure. "More like a stalker, what was with his attitude?" The further into the sentence Yuffie got the more exasperated she became. By the end she'd lifted both hands, waving them gently in the air to put a point on her question. "Dunno', we should head back though, the party's over." The swordsman's single sentence reply put Yuffie into even more of a huff. They'd just had a near death experience! The least he could do was acknowledge it'd almost been the end for both of them. But no, instead Leon just turned, once again showing his back to her before setting off towards the organization's secret entryway. Yuffie didn't have time to remain indignant for long; he was a fast walker. "Hey! Wait up!"

* * *

The debriefing at the organization went by quickly enough. There was no paperwork associated with this assignment which was just as well with Yuffie. After all, she hated doing paper work. After the debriefing both of them were released from the building and sent back out into the no longer smoldering rubble of a broken city. The fighting had by now finally died down and the regular citizens had begun to come back out to pick up the pieces. Husbands and wives managed surveyed broken store fronts as little children picked up the pieces. It wasn't a very pretty site, but it surely could have been much worse. Most of the more grizzly battlefield leftovers had already been removed from the streets.

As Yuffie continued her walk down the main thoroughfare and towards Lasbruck's massive open gates she took a moment to regard her companion. This was the first time she'd really had a chance to look at him without her nerves or the fear of sudden death drawing her attention away. For all her looking Leon's face could've been etched from stone, the man was a steel trap of emotions: nothing got out. Still, from her experiences so far she knew there was a modicum of personality buried deep down in there. She'd seen it first hand after all!

Yuffie knew Leon was one of the organizations most capable mercenaries, she also knew that she was one of their most capable runners. After the story presented to her organizations superiors they all agreed that from now on, if she was going to continue taking missions of high importance, she was going to need some protection. The combination of effective field personnel seemed like a good match to the management; everyone was expendable, but it didn't hurt to have a runner who could make the journey to Kisoz Cliffs in two days in their collective pocket.

As they passed the giant wooden gates Yuffie ran a few steps ahead, stopping to lift both arms above her head, stretching them out in an absent manner. With all the chaos caused by the uprising in Lasbruck it was going to be a few days at the least before anything new came down the delivery pipeline. That meant there was really only one destination for them: Viele Bahnen. Smiling, Yuffie closed her eyes. She could almost smell Aerith's sweet cooking, imaging all the goodies that would be prepared for their return, most of all the cookies!

"Don't go getting an empty head." Leon's crushed gravel voice snapped the girl back to reality, dragging her kicking and screaming away from her imaginary feast. "He'll be back, and next time I doubt a little flag waving is going to get rid of him." Quick as a flash Yuffie was at his side, her balled fist bouncing playfully off his muscular bicep in a light-hearted jab. "That's what I have you for right?" Suddenly her playful tone changed. Lifting her hand up to cover half her face, Yuffie summoned up her best, most serious expression. "You're right. Danger could be lurking around every turn, we have to stay sharp." Yuffie dropped the expression almost immediately afterwards. Although it could use a bit of work, she had to admit her Leon impression was coming along nicely. For all of this the runner received in turn first a quirked eyebrow, then an intense scowl as Leon recognized the facsimile of his own mannerisms. For anyone else the gaze would have been wilting, but for Yuffie she just brushed it off. She'd already seen his concerned side back when he was defending her against the mystery maniac, there was no taking it back now. "To Aerith's!" This was followed by Yuffie pointing forward down the road. Leon could only sigh, this assignment was going to be more tiresome than he'd originally thought.

* * *

It took the better part of the day for the two of them to reach the outskirts of Viele Bahnen. By then the crisp orange rays of the setting sun had already begun to play at the edges of the horizon. Up ahead Yuffie had stopped to stretch and take in the scenery. She was used to these kinds of trips; running was her profession after all. For a runner who'd seen the trail more times than she could count, Yuffie was sure she could've kept this pace up forever. Not so for Leon. Yuffie had already had to reduce her speed for him a few times today. As strong as he was with sword in hand, hiking didn't seem to be the mercenary's forte. He was built for cutting things in half with a giant sword, not running a marathon. It was all the same to Yuffie. Her pace wasn't significantly delayed and it was actually nice to have a second to take in the scenery instead of watching it whoosh by at lightning speed.

Finally the two arrived at Aerith's house. Leon had been here a few times before, but his last visit had been more of a business venture so he hung back, waiting for Yuffie to do the talking. The young girl was happy to oblige him. Yuffie gave the center of the door a few curt wrapts with the back of her knuckle, before letting herself in. "Aerith, I'm back!" Yuffie's cheerful voice seemed to die in her throat. As soon as she stepped inside she could tell something was off.

The usual glow accompanied Aerith's serene complexion, the glow she seemed to fill the house with had vanished leaving only the gloomy half-darkness. It didn't take long to locate the woman, Aerith was sitting at the kitchen's center table, somewhat sluggish to respond. As Yuffie stepped in further, Aerith seemed to snap out of whatever trance had held her. "Oh, Yuffie. . ." Her voice trailed off. Then, all in a flood the emotion seemed to come out. The older woman rushed over to Yuffie, throwing both hands around the younger girl's neck. There weren't any tears but Yuffie could've sworn she was on the verge. "Aerith what's going on?"

The older woman took a moment to compose herself, finally looking straight into Yuffie's eyes as her reply came. "Cloud hasn't come back." It didn't take a telepath to sense the worry in her voice, it was all genuine. "He was supposed to be home days ago but I haven't heard anything, not even a letter. I thought he might have been at Cid's so I sent one special delivery. The replay came today, Cid hasn't seen him in over a month." Aerith's words brought the gravity of the situation home. Yuffie could feel her stomach tightening. This was the beginning of something really bad.


	8. Song of Swords

The village of Kisoz, which was built near the geographical feature after which it was named, was a small but thriving village which managed to stand out against the stony backdrop of its otherwise drab surroundings by means of numerous multi-colored decorations. Deeps shades of reds and oranges and yellows danced across the buildings, squares, and streamers which composed the settlement. It was a harsh contrast to the dull and faded greys and browns which littered the surrounding rocky wastes; the village stood out like a shining star in the darkness of the canyon's stony embrace.

Further beyond the village edge the immense visage of Mount Kisoz rose in vertical distance. The mountain's summit loomed just above the cloud tops, its jagged edges scrapping roughly against floating puffs of white. The cliff edge upon which the village was built had predictable weather, usually the summit either trapped or deflected passing rain clouds. From the cliff heights it was easy to see when a storm was coming and to take necessary precautions. However, this was not the case for weather at the cliff summit. From its looming heights, the summit produced weather that was neither hospitable nor predictable. For these reasons the villagers of Kisoz usually avoided the summit. Only the brave or foolhardy dared to test themselves against its heights and it was ever the duty of the village counsel to keep impetuous young boys from climbing its sheer faces and dangerous peaks in an effort to prove their machismo.

For Cloud his trip to the summit had nothing to do with proving his worthiness. The mercenary had seen enough of the bad life to know it was a journey he could endure. After his mission in Lasbruck with Leon had ended, Cloud had been contacted by a close friend and passed certain information. That information was the impetus for his current climb. The trip from Lasbruck to Kisoz had taken him three hard days at his normal speed, now the trip to the summit was taking just as long.

As the mercenary climbed he reached up to grasp at a small length of pink fabric, fingers tightening around the small fabric as he pulled it closer to his face. The cold of the mountaintop was beginning to get to him. The first day had been a combination of driving rain, snow, and sleet, only relenting when he chose a small cliff-side cave for the night. In the morning the wet mixture had hardened into treacherous ice flows which further impeded his ability to make good progress. For as much as the weather had impeded his climb, it was nothing compared to the wild-life. The carnivorous fauna that called Mount Kisoz their home had taken every opportunity to try and make Cloud their next meal; it only took a day or two for them to realize it was a wasted effort. The mercenaries' sword arm was strong and he was not to be overcome. The second night he'd eaten well on a mixture of assorted wild-life offerings.

Now, on the third day, he was just happy that Aerith had decided to take up knitting as a pastime. For all his armor and cloaks, his wife's knitted scarf seemed to keep him the warmest despite its small size. For anyone else the ascent to the summit would have been a fool's errand, but for Cloud, it was just another part of his continuing quest. It was just another part of closing the door on his past.

It was nearing sunset when Cloud finally made it to the appointed place. It was another cliff face close to the true summit of the mountain, an open area which spread out evenly until it eventually ran into a small downward taper. That taper grew drastically until finally the lip fall off to reveal a sheer face. 'It's just like him to pick a place like this'. Despite the harrowing climb Cloud didn't feel the slightest bit of exhaustion, instead, he felt as though he were full of energy. He felt charged to an electric edge. That energy just as quickly turned to anxiety when he finally laid eyes on the object of his latest dogged pursuit.

At the other edge of the snowy clearing, nearer to the sheer face a stoic figure stood which his back turned. Cloud's previous shock turned into instant comprehension, there could be no mistake as to the figure's identity. Clad in what appeared to be some kind of ancient, dark blue armor the unflinching figure had buckled at his side what appeared to be an almost comically long curved sword. The flashing blade of the figure's accoutrement matched the steely silver of his hair.

As Cloud moved closer his crunching footsteps drew the mystery figure's attention. The man swiveled easily, tossing an unconcerned glance over his shoulder before finally turning to face his expected visitor. Cool blue eyes settled on Cloud's own and when the figure spoke, it came in a sound like crushed velvet.

"I've been waiting for you, Cloud."

Despite the freezing conditions and driving snow the mysterious figure showed no signs of discomfort. Cloud, on the other hand, could feel the ice seeping deep into his bones. "It's so good of you to come for our. . . reunion." The man's smile was like something from a nightmare, it contorted his naturally picturesque features into a hollow mockery of satisfaction. "I've been looking forward to this meeting."

For his part the mercenary stood tall. Cloud's fingers easily found the hilt of his Buster sword in a swift, practiced motion. All in one movement the weapon was unholstered and brought to bear, wide edge presented menacingly to his opponent. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Sephiroth." Cloud's voice was even, but tinged with a malicious edge. His eyes told the story, bright blue and burning with a vengeful energy.

The two stood still, sizing each other up as the snow of the peak battered at their armor. It was Cloud who made the first move. Time seemed to slow down as he approached, his mind focused fully on the origin of his unhappiness. His blade swam through the air with a speed that seemed impossible for a weapon of its size. Lightning strikes flowed with a swiftness that belied years of practice, but it was all to be for nought.

Just as quickly and with even more ease the stranger, Sephiroth, maneuvered his blade to deflect each blow in turn. It was no small feat; with elegant precision and a hint of smug satisfaction Sephiroth's thin instrument threw off each mighty blow of the Buster sword in turn. "Come now Cloud, is that really the best you can do?" With a twist of his wrist Sephiroth brought his own weapon, the Masamune, to bear against his opponent. In what seemed like only a second the weapon hummed invisibly, its strikes to quick for the eye to see. Ribbons of blood sprouted from fresh nicks along Cloud's arms and legs, forcing him back.

"Face it Cloud, you're as empty as a puppet. Without me you never would have grown as strong as you are." Masamune hummed again, this time biting even deeper gashes into Cloud's retreating form, forcing him to his knees. "Pathetic. I had hoped by now you'd have become a suitable vessel, but I suppose I'll have to use her after all." This time when the Masamune struck, it screamed for blood. Cloud could feel the cold, unfeeling steel as it entered his body, lifting him from the snow. The blade was turned a bit and he could feel himself moving; soon there was nothing beneath his feet.

In a supernatural feat of strength Sephiroth held his blade over the cliff edge, keeping Cloud impaled upon its length long enough for one final, parting word. "If you survive, then find me again. Hate me with all your heart. Struggle, until you become strong enough to overcome me." Sephiroth let his wrist tilt forward, the tip of the Masamune dipping downwards. With a sickingly wet 'schick', Cloud felt himself slide down the sword and into the white abyss below.

* * *

In the days after Cloud's disappearance the usually upbeat bustlings of the Gainsborough household ground to a rather abrupt halt. For Yuffie, it was a strange time. For all her life she'd only known Aerith as a woman of optimism and activity, always widdling away at this or that project. If it was sewing a new pair of socks for Cloud it was tending to a few flowers in the garden. Lately the routine had ground to a dead stop. Aerith had closed the flower shop temporarily and taken to long stints of sitting by the small fireplace. Yuffie knew her friend was trying not to worry, but it was clear after her previous outburst that she was having a difficult time coping with Cloud's absence.

"It's a dangerous job." Leon had said one evening, when the two of them were out of the house. Yuffie had found him sitting out by an old tree in a pasture behind Aerith's house. Leon sat down below with his back resting against the oak's sturdy trunk. Yuffie had taken to one of the lower limbs and was absently kicking her feet when he'd decided to speak. "Working for the organization pays well, but it has its risks. He may not be coming back."

Yuffie had known how treacherous the job could be from the beginning, but deep down she'd forced herself to repress the thoughts. She'd always kept her mind of the mission, running from place to place. As long as she was running she was free, as long as she was running she didn't have to think about the consequences, about not making it back. But now Squall. . . Leon, had said the silent part out loud.

"Cloud's strong, he'll make it back, I know he will." Her words were little more than a whisper, spoken more to reassure herself than anyone else. Leon didn't respond and for about a minute the silence settled between them. Then, finally, "You're drawing yourself in too deep." The words hung for a moment, as Leon rose to his feet. Yuffie could hear the rustle of his clothing as he gathered up the gunblade at his side. "It's too late for Cloud and I, but you could have a future outside this business. Something to think about." And then he was gone, striding back down the lightly beaten path to Aerith's house. Yuffie remained at the tree a moment longer to consider Leon's words. She'd never really thought about leaving the organization, despite the tough times they'd given her. It was hard work, but even with the threat of mysterious assassin's chasing her tail Yuffie doubted she'd be happy if she gave up the adventure that came along with her work. Plopping back down to the ground, she took a moment to dust herself off before making chase, back down the path to Aerith's house.

* * *

It was the fourth day after Yuffie had arrived back at Viele Bahnen that news about Cloud finally came. It was sealed in a fine cream envelope and delivered by a spikey haired youth with an oversized instrument. "Demyx is the name!" He'd said in a bright and cheery tone, a welcome site around the increasingly dreary Gainsborough household. The letter had been addressed to Yuffie and sent from a mailer in Kisoz Cliffs.

In silent apprehension Yuffie, Leon, and Aerith gathered around the small kitchen table as Yuffie tore into one side with the sharpened edge of a kunai. The letter inside was written in a beautiful, flowing print; backhanded cursive that was all of illegible to Leon's eyes, but clearly interpretable by his female companions.

'Dear Yuffie,

I'm not sure when this letter will reach you, but I had hoped to write you under better circumstances. I know you've been pestering me about meeting Ms. Aerith and I think now will finally be the time. A few days ago a man went up to the Mount Kisoz summit. Some of the villager's tried to dissuade him but he said he was on a mission. Yesterday one of the villager miners found him unconscious in a snow drift. I've been keeping him here at my house and he's making a good recovery, but he when he first woke up he asked me to send you this letter to let you know where he is. He says his name is Cloud and that he knows you and Ms. Aerith. He isn't well enough to travel yet, so he's asked for the both of you to come in person, if possible.

Best love, Kairi'

Yuffie read the note out loud and by the end a decidedly joyous mood seemed to have filled the household. Leon was his usual dower self, but both Yuffie and Aerith were ecstatic with the news. There was no time wasted in making preparations and by midday the three companions had hit the road to Kisoz Cliffs.

* * *

It was a dark meeting room in one of Lasbruck's Organization safehouses. Usually the place was kept under lock and key, reserved only for stowing agents who'd attracted too much attention. Tonight, however, it served the purpose of hosting a secret rendezvous between Organization heads. The various men who inhabited the room wore expressions which ranged from stoic, to apprehensive, to disinterested.

There were four men: One was standing near a small, lit fireplace at the far end of the room, golden eyes staring absently into its consuming flames. A blue haired man with an impressive facial scar sat at a small table, fingers absently flipping through the day's reports. In comfortable arm chair, another silver haired man, albeit this one sporting an unamused grimace and missing an eye. Finally, there was a blonde man with numerous piercings leaning against a side wall who was consumed with the endlessly shuffling of a deck of cards.

The man by the fire, Xemnas, was the first to speak. His voice came out in a low, bass tone that instantly drew the attention of the room's other occupants. "Have we heard anything from our little bird?" His interrogative hung in the air for only a split second as the others deciphered its meaning, then the man with blue hair, Saix, spoke. "No, he's been silent since his arrival at Yemac-til. His reports have stopped coming in, there's a possibility he's been neutralized."

It was then that the one-eyed man, Xigbar, that spoke up. "It's just as well, saves me the trouble of doing it myself. You put someone on traitor-watch and it's only a matter of time before they flip themselves." As he spoke, Xigbar proceeded lazily with the checking of his mysterious weapon. The instrument was pointed and connected to what appeared to be some kind of ammunition magazine. To the casual observer it appeared to be nothing more than a strangely shaped hunk of steel but for the men in the room, those who knew its true function, the lethality of the weapon was never in question.

"Perhaps not. If another pawn has been eliminated it may turn the tides of the game against us. Better to keep as many pieces on the board as possible." This time it was the man shuffling the deck, Luxord. "I hope you know we're quickly running out of aces."

The disagreement between the three men was evident and perhaps the argument would have proceeded further if not for the intervention of their leader. Xemnas spoke again in his baritone. "I agree with Luxord's assessment, losing Axel at this early stage does not bode well. We'll send another. Saix, I leave the selection to you. If Axel has flipped to the other side, then have him eliminated."

At these words Xibgar couldn't help but grin. His palm found the side-bolt on his weapon, forcing it back to chamber a live round. "Well, well, if it isn't finally about to get exciting around here!"


	9. Reunion of Heart

**Author's Note:**

So I got motivated this week and had some extra time so I decided to write another chapter. I know I haven't been focusing overly much on Yuffie and Leon but I wanted to try and set up some plot threads with the other characters for later. This chapter will be a return to the mostly Squiffie stuff. I'm going to be busy for the rest of the week and won't be able to get back to this until probably next Wednesday, with a slight chance that some work may be done Friday, so expect chapter 10 around that time.

**Clarification:**

The original author left the boy's (Sora, Roxas, Riku) ages pretty unclear, so I'm going to go ahead and clarify that they and Kairi are all 16 with Riku being 17. Those ages work well for my purposes and help set up a plot thread later on with some other characters.

* * *

With Yuffie, Leon, and Aerith all equipped for the journey the three companions set off on the road to Kisoz Cliffs. The journey from Viele Bahnen was becoming more familiar to Yuffie by the week, she was sure she'd seen that tree and those rock formations before! There venture had a decidedly upbeat tune to it despite Leon's dour personality making every attempt to put a damper on Yuffie and Aerith's excitement. For all his mysterious stoicism, Yuffie couldn't help but feel the urge to throttle him sometimes; talking to Leon was like trying to talk to a marble statue for all the grunts and nods you got in return.

The mostly silent mercenary seemed his most talkative at night when they were making camp. Aerith took care of the cooking, of course, while Leon handled the firewood and general tent setup. The whole affair left Yuffie with little to do other than tend the fire that Leon had started. The whole camping thing was turning out to be quite a new experience. For Yuffie, the road usually meant a constant, steady run until she reached her destination. However, with Aerith in tow, the pace of their trip had taken a severe hit. Despite the woman's fervent desire to see her dearly beloved again, her body wasn't cut out for rapid travel the way Yuffie and Leon's were. She needed the rest stops and Yuffie, for one, was happy to have them.

After a quick and scrumptious meal courtesy of Aerith, Yuffie laid herself back into the soft grass of the forest floor. Her eyes drifted up towards and the sky and through the bowing branches overhead she could make out the winking lights of many distant stars. Sometimes Yuffie wondered what it would be like to travel to one of the distant lights. For all her running from city to city, she liked to daydream about what kind of miraculous sights could await her if she managed to travel to those distant worlds. Yuffie was drawn away from her musings by the gentle sound of rustling tent flaps. Turning her head she could barely catch a glimpse of Aerith as she retired to her tent.

In the still of the night air, that left only Leon and herself. From her place on her back Yuffie watched him silently, waves of dying orange fire light dancing across his features in uneven but rhythmic motions. "Something wrong?" He hadn't bothered to look at her as he spoke, somehow, someway he'd known she'd been watching him. Pushing up into a seated position Yuffie shook her head quickly, voice filled with just a tinge of nervousness. "No, it's just. . ." Yuffie didn't bother finishing her sentence, she realized how futile the effort would be. Instead she did her best to act annoyed, crossing her arms against her chest in a huff. "Why do you always act like that? Wouldn't it kill you to have a bit of personality?"

Despite her best efforts at visualizing her displeasure, Leon seemed oblivious to the body language. That or he was actively ignoring it. "Smiles don't suit me." He said finally. By now Leon had taken up a nearby stick, prodding at the fire absently to keep the coals burning hot. He didn't seem likely to add anything further, so Yuffie decided to push a little. She decided to take a shot in the dark. "That must be why you changed your name, right Squall? Too many happy memories?" Yuffie rose to her feet, lightly dusting the bottoms of her pants. "You're right, smiles don't suit mercenaries."

And then it happened. Leon turned, a dangerous look in his eyes. Those chocolate hues burned with a raging intensity unlike Yuffie had seen before. She'd heard it said that the eyes were the window to the soul and at this moment Yuffie knew it was true. 'Now we're getting somewhere,' she thought smugly.

* * *

The remainder of the group's trip to Kisoz Cliffs continued in much the same manner as it had been, though with some changes. For her part Yuffie had taken this chance to up that amount of questions she aimed Leon's way and for Leon's part he did his best to ignore or deflect them. Aerith was caught in the middle and delighted a bit in joining their combined teasing of Leon.

It was the mid-afternoon of the fourth day when they finally arrived at the Kisoz settlement. In the streets the familiar bustle of busy villagers seemed common place to Yuffie and Leon, but for Aerith it was as if another world had opened up before her. For the flower peddler everything from the styles of dress to the accents were new to her and Aerith had to remind herself to stay focused on the task at hand. She'd only been outside of Viele Bahnen a few times in her life and this was possibly the biggest single settlement she'd seen in her life.

"C'mon, I'll show you the way to Kairi's house!" Yuffie beamed, happy at the long awaited possibility of her two friends finally meeting.

The three moved through the streets in a hustled blur, reaching Kairi's house in a matter of minutes. Yuffie delivered a few well-aimed wraps on the door with her fist and not long after a young teenager with rose-tinted hair answered the door. She smiled when she recognized Yuffie's face and quickly hurried them all in to the small house.

"You must have ran the whole way from Viele Bahnen, I wasn't expecting you for another week!" Kairi did her best to contain her excitement, but it was very noticeable bubbling over. "I know you're anxious to see Cloud. He's been resting up in the guest room, it's the one at the end of the hall." Kairi motioned easily towards the aforementioned room, before turning to take a seat on a nearby chair. She was certainly ready to hear about her friend's latest adventure, but understood that despite her excitement the tales could wait until after her friend's reunion.

Yuffie and Aerith moved quickly to the guest room, Aerith going first to open the door a crack. Leon hung back a ways, not necessarily interested in involving himself too deeply with the emotional spectacle.

As the two woman made their way into the darkened room, a figure lay on a bed by the far while, eyes gazing blankly up towards the ceiling as a few tiny rays of light spilled through the blinds of an adjacent window. Their presence didn't seem to illicit much a response from the figure, but they could tell from his open eyes that he was awake.

"Cloud?" Aerith's voice came out hesitantly, but with a firmness that belied her underlying conviction. It was her voice that broke the figure from his trance, glossed blue eyes regaining a bit of their focus as he turned to face them. The movement was evidently an effort, as it brought on a wince of pain for his troubles. This was all Aerith needed to see and without any further pleasantries she rushed to his side, dropping to her knees beside the bed.

Yuffie remained where she was by the door, marveling grimly at the state of Cloud's being. The blankets were only pulled up about half way, but from the many bandages that covered his body she was sure he'd been involved in a fierce battle. Cloud and Aerith exchanged silent words from the bedside, Aerith smiling through barely held-back tears as Cloud gave her his usual reassuring grin. It was a touching moment and Yuffie had no intention of ruining it by charging in. She was just as anxious to hear about Cloud's condition, but her concern for her friends demanded she give them a little privacy. Closing the door quietly, Yuffie retreated back into the hallway without so much as a word.

When Yuffie returned to the kitchen table where Kairi and Leon were seated, Leon was the first to speak. He didn't bother with the pleasantries and spoke his query bluntly. "How bad is it?" Although Kairi was the one who'd patched the mercenary up, in Leon's assessment Yuffie seemed the better qualified individual to rate battlefield readiness. "Not good. Whoever it was put him down for the count." Her words had a small but distinct effect on the other swordsman and when Leon looked away she could almost make out concern in his eyes. But the emotion was quashed just as quickly as it had sprouted; Squall worried about his friends, Leon did what it took to get the job done.

Deep down Leon suffocated the momentary trace of concern for Cloud's wellbeing and when he looked back at Yuffie he was all business again. Still, the sight had not escaped her eyes and he could see in Yuffie's shocked eyes just how much she had learned from his moment of weakness.

"If that's true, then it isn't safe to stay here. We don't know who did this and they may have targeted Cloud because of his connection to you." Leon's words hurt deep down in Yuffie's heart. The thought that one of her friends may have gotten hurt because of her organization work stung to the core. It was now that Kairi choose to speak up. A silent observed until this point in the conversation, the younger teenager drew their attention with her question. "So you're saying that Yuffie's in danger?" A barely hidden tone of worry laced her voice. "Is it something to do with your work?" Pleading eyes turned to Yuffie and she was just about to make a response when Leon cut her off and probably smartly so. "It's best if you don't know about it. Involving more people would just put you at risk too."

Kairi looked as though she were about to make another protestation, but Yuffie spoke first. "I know you're worried Kairi, but you can trust me. I've got it handled." Yuffie finished this with a confident wink. Kairi seemed unconvinced, but let the issue drop. It didn't seem like arguing further was going to do any good.

* * *

The rest of the day seemed to go by in something of a daze. Aerith had remained with Cloud in the room for the better part of the afternoon and so Yuffie had contented herself with making small talk with Kairi. The two sat on the teenager's back porch, watching the ruckus coming from the square off the adjoining street.

It had been only an hour or two after Yuffie arrived that the boys: Sora, Roxas, and Riku, arrived that the house to inquire after her. Their questions had lasted long after setting sights on Leon and Riku was the first of the three to challenge him to a friendly sparing match.

From their seats on the porch the two girls watched the commotion. It had taken little more than a minute for Leon to get the upper hand on Riku and judging by the mercenaries' lazy sword swings he wasn't giving it even close to his full effort. So then Sora and Roxas had decided to join in, turning the friendly match into an all ou brawl.

In the center of square Leon moved easily from left to right, precise footwork maneuvering him in between the arcs of the boys three wooden swords. At times when movement wasn't enough a quick turn of his wrist brought his own wood weapon forward, easily deflecting blows and thrusts by the teens. Every now and again he decided to retaliate, landing a soft smack on the arm or leg. Of the three Riku seemed to be faring the best, with Sora close behind. About half-way through the fight Roxas seemed to give up, deciding the tussle wasn't worth his full effort.

The commotion carried on into the early evening, but which time all three boys were fully exhausted. Leon had come out of the exchange no worse for the wear, although sporting one or two tiny bruises from errant lucky hits.

During the scuffle Kairi had spent time explaining how some miner's had discovered Cloud on the lower mountainside and how she'd agreed to take him in. Yuffie was only half-listening, with her mind more focused on the quandary of the Organization plots she'd somehow gotten herself caught up in. It was only when Kairi was finished preparing dinner that the three friends finally saw Aerith leaving the guest room.

She seemed to be wearing her normal cheery expression again, undoubtedly relieved after seeing Cloud doing well in his recovery. The friends exchanged a few words and Kairi passed two helpings of the soup she'd prepared to Aerith, who thanked her and departed once again for the guest room. Kairi, Yuffie, and Leon at together at the kitchen table, passing comments every now and again now that the mood had lightened up. After dinner Kairi cleaned the dishes and advised her two guests of the sleeping arrangements. "It looks like Cloud and Aerith have taken the guest room, so that just leaves the couch. I'm sorry but you're going to have to share somehow." Yuffie was about to protest but thought better of it. Yuffie couldn't count the number of times she'd crashed in Kairi's guest room, passing one night on the couch wouldn't kill her. "I'll see you both in the morning," was all the teenager said as she vanished into her own room, shutting the door.

So that left Yuffie and Leon sitting on opposite ends of the couch staring at one another. Yuffie was the first to speak, "You know a gentlemen would let the lady take the couch and sleep on the floor." Leon responded in his usual, pragmatic tone. "A gentlemen who needs his rest to protect you, hence the couch." The arguing continued for a while but neither side was willing to budge. Eventually they decided on sharing the couch, which each having their own end. Unfortunately the blanket Kairi had given them wasn't large enough to fit two people and eventually the necessity for warmth won out.

* * *

When Yuffie awoke the next morning she could feel something moving underneath her. It was a gentle rhythmic rise and fall. Opening her eyes, she was shock, but silently so; to find that in the night she and Leon had become entangled with one another in a mass of limbs. It took some doing to extricate herself, but she managed to do so silently and, more importantly, without waking the sleeping mercenary beneath her.

Rising into a seated position, her bottom rested on Leon's chest as she wrapped the blanket around her, stealing its warmth for herself. In the morning light she could finally see his expression had changed. In sleep, all the tightness of his normally grim features had drained away, leaving only the restful relaxation of unconsciousness. 'So there is a man under there after all, not just a stone wall'. Unable to help herself, Yuffie reached out. A single finger traced the edge of Leon's jawline, its tip finally coming to rest gently against his lips. The movement must have awoken some part of him, because at that moment his brows furrowed again as if in worry. Then it came, one word, a name.

"Rinoa."

He breathed it out in such a whisper that it was barely audible, but for Yuffie it was if she'd been struck by a lightening bolt. Instantly her hand recoiled and the gravity of the situation sank in. She wasn't a kid anymore and she shouldn't be playing games like this, especially with a man like Leon. Especially if he had someone else. Pulling her hands to her chest Yuffie let out a silent sigh, hurting in ways she hadn't realized she could before. Had she really become so attached? No, it was just a flight of fancy was all, a crush, that had to be it.

Yuffie drew herself off of her erstwhile companion and towards one of the nearby sitting chairs, selfishly keeping the blanket she'd stolen. Right now she didn't feel like Leon deserved to have it back. It was childish, she knew, but she deserved a bit of revenge after what had just happened.

About ten minutes later Kairi woke up, rising with the sun and ready to start breakfast preparation. She was a little stunned to find Yuffie already up, after all, she did usually sleep in. Still, the company was nice while she took to the task of preparing food and the two chatted a bit until the other woke up.


	10. History in Postscript

**Author's Note:**

Hey all! I know this is up about two days later than I expected, but I got busy with a bit of life stuff happening. Hopefully you'll forgive me! With my current schedule I expect to have another chapter up sometime between Friday and Sunday of next week, assuming all goes according to plan. If you like the story please leave a review or shoot me a PM, I'd love to hear what you guys think so far!

**Extra Aside:**

I originally toyed with the idea of writing out what became Cloud's monologue as a flashback sequence. However, I decided that for the sake of brevity and my own sanity that it really wasn't a good idea. To fully do the arc justice would have necessitated probably two or more sub-chapters specifically dedicated to explaining and tying it up. I don't have the necessary time on my hands to write something like that and it would certainly break the narrative flow for the rest of the characters to do so. I know Cloud is a little OOC in this chapter with his constant talking, but that was really the best option time and narrative-wise.

* * *

It didn't take long for Kairi to finish the morning's meal preparation and soon she, Yuffie, and Leon were all seated around the small table which furnished her kitchen. The three were just about to begin eating when a curious sight appeared in the doorway to the guest room. Rocking back onto the rear two legs of her chair, Yuffie strained to see the figures of Cloud and Aerith exiting the room and heading down the hall in their direction. It took a second for them to step into the kitchen's morning light, but when they did Yuffie observed that a majority of the bandages which had previous adorned Cloud's arms and legs had been pulled away to reveal his fresh, but still healing, scars. Cloud had donned a simple pair of cotton sweat shorts and shirt, while Aerith remained in her night dress from the evening previous; albeit with a simple wool shawl thrown over her shoulders, to provide her a bit more modesty.

Yuffie was the first to speak. She was joyful that Cloud was up and about but her tone retained some of its usual sarcastic edge. "So prince charming's finally awake? Took you long enough, I was growing old over here." The group, save for Leon, shared a chuckle and the two newcomers sat down to share breakfast with the rest. The group of friends shared a bit more playful banter as the meal wore on, but eventually the food was finished and each, in turn, took a spot on one of the pieces of furniture in the adjacent living area. Cloud and Aerith took the couch, with Leon in a nearby chair and Yuffie remaining at the kitchen table. Kairi was hard at work with the dishes, which gave the rest a little time to talk about more serious matters.

When everyone was seated Leon cut right to the chase. He wasn't one for mincing words, as Cloud well knew, and his queries went straight to the heart of the matter. "Cloud, you left Lasbruck a few days before I did but never made it back. What happened?" Leon's chocolate hues caught Cloud's normally carefree cyan eyes and it was instantly apparent that the blonde was being evasive. "It doesn't matter, it's over." Cloud ended the sentence sharply, as if it were supposed to carry a tone of finality. Leon didn't seem to notice. "It does Cloud and you know it. Anyone capable of putting you down means bad news for all of us." As Leon spoke, the irritation in his tone grew. It was frustrating that he was having to explain the obvious. "Whoever did this to you, when they find out you're alive, they're going to come for you again and next time you might not be so lucky. Besides that, Yuffie has been attacked twice already. We have no idea if there's someone out there targeting us as a group." This time instead of responding Cloud merely averted his eyes, as if this would bring the conversation to a close. Leon was persistent though and wasn't willing to just let the matter drop. "Well?"

Before Leon could continue his inquisition Yuffie interjected. "Hey now Squall, there's no need for all that, right? Whatever happened I'm sure Cloud will tell us on his own time, when he's ready? Right Cloud?" The youthful ninja's attempt to throw some cold water on the situation was half-hearted at best. She hated to see her friends arguing, but at the same time Yuffie also understood the underpinnings of Leon's argument. If the person who did this to Cloud was after her and Leon also, it'd be better to know what they were up against.

The usually neutral blonde took a few moments to himself, as if thinking the situation over. He was broken from his thoughts as Aerith placed a gentle hand on his. Their eyes met and Yuffie could see a bit more of that 'psychic couples speak'. Maybe she could become fluent?

"Fine."

Cloud's response was curt, but with a sense of finality. He was a man with his mind made up. "The whole thing started a long time ago, back before I joined the organization. I was working for a different mercenary group called Soldier that operated out of Lasbruck. We took odd jobs in the area and it was a simple, straightforward system. Back when I first joined up, it was with a friend of mine from back home, Zack. We worked under the unit's captain; he was a warrior like I'd never seen before. His name was Sephiroth."

"The outfit did well for a while but on our last mission we got assigned to guard duty in a town called Kansai, which was up in the mountains. There was a research group doing studies about mining asteroids that had come down in the area. I didn't think much of it; it was a simple job and promised to be finished quick."

"It was the second week we were at the village when things started to change. We started having monster attacks on the outskirts of town, which had never happened before, and Sephiroth seemed more distant than normal. He was spending a lot of time with the research group up in the crater and only came down every couple of days. By the third week he was completely withdrawn and hardly talked to any of us." Cloud let out a sigh, leaning back to stare at the ceiling as his eyes glazed over with a distant haze.

"At the end of the third week was when it all happened. The monster attacks had become so ferocious that we began losing people. Zack and I headed into the crater to try and find Sephiroth and figure out what was going on. What we discovered. . . at first I didn't believe it."

"The research group had extracted some kind of substance from the fallen meteor and had been injecting it into the local wildlife. The results were the monsters we'd been fighting back in town. They must have injected Sephiroth with the substance at some point too, because when we showed up he'd finally gone insane. He'd killed the entire group and had taken the source of the substance, some kind of black box, for himself." Cloud's hand tensed suddenly, balling into a fist before relaxing again as if to vent his emotion.

"Zack and I did our best but it wasn't enough. Sephiroth burned the village and killed everyone. The two of us barely managed to escape, but Zack died on the way back to Lasbruck. Since then I've been hunting him. This was my latest attempt, but I'm not strong enough yet." The mercenary looked down again to his comrades, but no one said anything. The silence lasted for a long time as everyone tried to process what had been said.

Finally Yuffie spoke, this time in a tone more serious than her usually, playful banter. "You don't think that box the assassin was talking about. . ." Leon cut her off before she could finish. "It's a possibility. The more we learn the more important this box you delivered seems to become." Aerith was the next to speak and with her usual concern. "If that's true, then this person may also be after you, Yuffie." The little ninja straightened up. She'd only barely managed to get by in the last two fights, how was she going to handle somebody like that? The thought sent chills down her spine, the situation just kept getting worse. Was it too late to back out?

"Wow, I didn't expect to see you all looking so gloomy. I hope my cooking wasn't that bad?"

Everyone's heads snapped back to the source of the voice. Kairi stood leaning against the entryway to the living room. Her oblivious look told them all that she'd heard none of the previous conversation. "I hope I'm not cutting into anything, but I was hoping to take Aerith shopping for a bit. I need to pick up some more ingredients, you're eating me out of house and home!" The young girl spoke with a simple grin and with her words the tension in the room dissipated instantly. Cloud turned to stare off into space as Aerith rose and made her way over to Kairi. When the two women were gone Leon also made to get up with Yuffie following close behind.

* * *

When Leon stepped out into the small clearing at the rear of Aerith's house, he'd intended on taking a minute to get some fresh air. Unfortunately the inquisitive ninja he'd been paired with seemed to be making that an impossibility. Leon was enjoying the smell of the mountain air, when she seemed to finish mulling over whatever it was that she was thinking about. Then came her question, "So you're, like, super strong Squall. Do you think you could show me some moves?" If he hadn't been the straight-faced serious sort of man that he was, Leon would have laughed. Cloud's story must have given the girl serious doubts if she was actually asking for his help; as long as he'd known her Yuffie hadn't asked him for much of anything.

"Fine," Leon said in an overly exasperated manner, "but there is one thing." The ninja nodded her head excitedly, eyes wide with the prospect of learning some new techniques. "Call me Leon."

* * *

Leon and Yuffie spent the rest of the day trading blows in the training grounds past the village square. Usually this was the spot where Sora, Roxas, and Riku spent their time sparring, but today all eyes were one the deadly duo dancing in the center of the dirt-floored sparring arena.

Leon had to admit he was impressed with the girl's repertoire of skills. Steel smashed against steel as he deflected the latest flurry of scything shuriken. Yuffie followed up the projectiles with a couple of swift slashes from her oversized Conformer, then finished with a kick. The rubber of her shoe impacted against the flat of Leon's gunblade and he took a few steps back to help better dissipate the kick's kinetic energy. Leon could say for certain the girl certainly had potential, it was just hidden under all of her unorthodox 'ninja' techniques.

The two continued to spar and, every now and then, Leon spared a few words of commentary for Yuffie's consumption. Most of it was light critique, flow and positioning rather than a change in specific strikes or moves. Around lunch time, the three boys arrived and spent the rest of their day watching the two more experienced combatants go at it. By the end of the day, both Leon and Yuffie were thoroughly drenched in sweat and ready for a good night's rest. For the mercenary, the day had been a good refresher against a near peer opponent. For Yuffie, it had been a chance to see how well she really stacked up against the enigmatic gunblader. The two washed up and began the trek home as the sun was beginning to set against the horizon.

By the time they arrived, Kairi and Aerith were already preparing a dinner meal and Cloud was still yet to return from his walk through the village. After Leon and Yuffie had completed the necessary greetings upon their return, Kairi indicated that a letter had been delivered for Yuffie.

"It was a light blonde guy about medium height. He kept talking about how 'he was the wrong guy for the job'. I told him I'd give the letter when you got back." Kairi's simple explanation was enough to tell Yuffie that the delivery had been made by Demyx, the same runner that had handled Kairi's previous letter to her at Aerith's house.

As Yuffie peeled back the seal on the envelope she noticed Leon subtly peering over her shoulder. He was doing his best to look uninterested, like he was staring off into some distant part of the house, but Yuffie was beginning to develop a feel for when the mercenary was putting on his usual mask of disinterest. Inwardly she grinned. Upon opening the envelope a simple cream-colored letter was contained inside,

'Agent Osprey,

You are requested to return to Yemac-til immediately for an urgent assignment. Contained within this letter is a key and the location of an organization safe house. You are to report there and await further instructions. Also contained is an advance for the mission's payment. Pick up whatever supplies you may need on the way back.

Agent Z'

Turning the envelope over another, smaller scrap of paper fell out into Yuffie's palm along with a shining silver key. The energetic ninja allowed her excited smile to fill her happy features. There never was a slow moment working for the organization.


End file.
